The Democratic Alliance, South Africa’s self-proclaimed champions of clean governance, meritocracy, and “no cadre deployment here, thank you very much,” has been caught running its very own VIP salary enhancement scheme — and the stench is wafting all the way from the leafy suburbs of the Western Cape to the concrete jungles of Gauteng.
Watch video here:
According to a leaked report, the DA quietly spends over R305,000 every single month supplementing the salaries of its chosen few. That’s taxpayers’ money, donor funds, and membership fees being funneled into the pockets of the inner circle while the foot soldiers are told to tighten their belts and keep campaigning for the “greater good.”
And who exactly is sick and tired of this two-tier nonsense? Fourteen current DA members — a mix of parliamentarians, provincial legislators, councillors, and staff members based in Gauteng and the Western Cape — have had enough. Instead of going through the usual toothless internal channels, they reached out directly to the party’s favourite exile: Renaldo Gouws. Yes, the same Renaldo Gouws the DA tried to cancel and bury. Turns out when you’re drowning in hypocrisy, even the banished become your confessor.
Let’s meet the lucky beneficiaries of the DA’s secret “we like you more” fund:
Cilliers Brink (Tshwane Councillor): Base salary between R40,000–R45,000 a month for the tough job of local governance. The DA kindly adds R62,386 on top — pushing his total well beyond what most of his fellow councillors earn for doing the exact same work. Brink once piously claimed he stays in Tshwane “because it’s the right thing to do.” How touching. Turns out the right thing comes with a fat monthly bonus. Greed dressed up as public service — classic.
Ashor Sarupen (Deputy Finance Minister): Already banking R190,000 from the government, but why settle for one salary when you can have two? The DA throws in another R50,000 every month. Fiscal discipline looks different when you’re on the receiving end.
Mathew Cuthbert (MP & Policy Head): Government pay around R110,000, plus a generous R50,000 top-up. Must be exhausting crafting all those policies about good governance.
Werner Horn (MP): Same base of R110,000, sweetened with R50,000 extra. Because merit obviously needs financial encouragement.
Christopher Pappas (uMngeni Mayor): R76,000 normal salary, topped up by R44,609. The rate for keeping the mayoral chains shiny, apparently.
John Steenhuisen (Minister of Agriculture): Comfortably on R232,000 a month from the state, yet still collects an extra R39,560 “leader stipend” from the DA. That brings his package close to Deputy President levels. Meanwhile, the man who knows “little about the industry” lectures actual farmers on what to plant, how to farm, and now wants to roll out mRNA vaccines for Foot-and-Mouth disease. Because nothing builds trust in agriculture like pushing experimental tech while your own salary gets an experimental top-up.
George Michalakis (MP & Chief Whip): R110,000 base plus a cheeky R9,053 top-up. Even the smaller slices taste sweet when the pie is this exclusive.
Here’s the spicy part: while these golden boys and girls enjoy their padded paycheques, other councillors, legislators, and staff doing identical jobs in Gauteng and the Western Cape get absolutely nothing extra. Same hours, same stress, same voters shouting at them — zero top-ups. Just pure, unadulterated second-class citizenship inside the “party of excellence.”
No wonder those 14 parliamentarians, provincial legislators, councillors, and staffers from Gauteng and the Western Cape are fuming. They’re the ones knocking on doors in Johannesburg townships and Cape Flats communities, defending the DA brand, only to discover that loyalty at the top is rewarded with secret cash while loyalty at the bottom gets you a pat on the back and a R40k salary.
The leaked report has already sparked outrage, with allegations of “double-dipping,” ethical violations, and the very cadre deployment-style favouritism the DA loves to criticise in the ANC. Calls for investigations, Public Protector involvement, and internal probes are growing louder.
Renaldo Gouws must be grinning from ear to ear. The man the DA discarded is now the messenger for its own disgruntled insiders. The party that positioned itself as morally superior is bleeding credibility faster than a Gauteng pothole leaks water.
John Steenhuisen can keep telling farmers how to run their businesses and pushing questionable vaccine solutions, but perhaps he should first explain why his party needs to secretly boost his already generous ministerial salary. The optics are so bad they’re almost impressive.
South Africans who voted DA hoping for a genuine alternative to ANC-style corruption are watching this unfold with growing disgust. The more the DA screams “we’re different,” the more it looks exactly the same — just with better branding and slicker excuses.
The 14 insiders who reached out to Gouws have lit the fuse. Whether this becomes a full-blown implosion or another “nothing to see here” deflection remains to be seen. But one thing is crystal clear: the DA’s “clean hands” reputation just got covered in very expensive, very secret top-up gravy.
Pass the popcorn. South African politics in 2026 is serving nothing but spice.
Comments (0)
Leave a Comment