The government plans to spend over R4 billion rand on VIP and static protection services for the 2026/2027 financial year.
This is according to Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia, who recently stated that the money will be spend on Protection and Security Services (PSS) and Presidential Protection Services (PPS) capabilities for the President, ministers, deputies, and international dignitaries.
These services are projected to cost R4.06 billion, a significant increase from the R3.7 billion spent in the 2024/2025 period, and the R2.5 billion spent during the 2025/2026 financial year thus far.
Cachalia revealed this information while responding to a parliamentary question from Action SA MP Alan Beesley, who asked him to provide a breakdown of the VIP and static protection costs for politicians.
The police minister explained that the state’s projected expenditure is R2.46 billion for VIP protection and R1.6 billion for static protection in 2026/2027.
Politician VIP protection services have drawn heavy scrutiny over the last few years as a result of their poor conduct towards other road users.
These convoys typically consist of several black SUVs fitted with blue lights, earning them the nickname “Blue Light Brigade.”
However, many have started to refer to these convoys as “Blue Light Bullies” because of the way they push their way through traffic while threatening other motorists.
They have been criticised for their conduct and for the enormous operating expenses they rack up – a sum that is ultimately forced onto taxpayers.
Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) CEO Wayne Duvenage previously highlighted that the government spent more money on VIP protection than the Hawks in 2023.
“What gives them the right to put those blue lights on and behave as if everybody must move out of their way?” Duvenage asked.
“We’ve got to start asking ourselves what we are spending this money on.”
Sygnia co-founder and CEO Magda Wierzycka labelled the government’s spending on VIP protection “absurd” and “highly questionable,” claiming the money would be better spent protecting whistleblowers exposing corruption in South Africa.
“If you just cut the budget in half, you would have about R1 billion to protect people who are trying – in their own, individual capacity – to protect South Africa,” she said.
Minister of Correctional Services, Pieter Groenewald, previously highlighted that it costs R35,594 to install one set of blue lights on a convoy security vehicle.
Taxpayers foot the bill for these services and are then repaid with violence and intimidation tactics.
The Blue Light Brigades were put in the spotlight during a high-profile incident in 2023 when an armed convoy was recorded boxing in a motorist.
They forced the car to the side of the road and assaulted the occupants before speeding off again.
The offending officers were formally charged after a video of the incident went viral.
Bloated VIP costs
The concerns over South Africa’s vast VIP protection services budget are linked to a common criticism that the government’s executive branch is far too big.
At 75 members, South Africa’s executive is one of the largest in the world, exceeding much larger economies like the United Kingdom, United States, and Japan.
In 2019, the Department of Public Service and Administration submitted a report to the President calling for a reduction in the size of his Cabinet.
President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged to reduce the executive, but this didn’t come to pass.
Instead, cabinet has grown under Ramaphosa’s leadership with 32 ministers and 43 deputy ministers.
The president also doubled down in April 2025, claiming that South Africa needs its deputy ministers and that he does not intend to eliminate any positions.
He claimed that the formation of the Government of National Unity in 2024 necessitated a larger cabinet.
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