The DA has promised to reduce the cabinet to 15 ministers if it is voted into power after the May elections.

In its 75-page manifesto, the official opposition party says this will save the country close to R5bn annually.

"It is important to recognise that reducing the number of ministries in South Africa does not mean that we do away with essential departments of government entities," the manifesto says. "Rather, it means that we do away with unnecessary ministries, at least in principle, that were created to exercise political oversight and leadership, but have failed to do so."

During former president Thabo Mbeki’s tenure, he appointed 50 government ministers, while the number grew under the presidency of former president Jacob Zuma to 73.

The DA says that these bloated cabinets were as a result of rewarding political loyalty and patronage.

The DA says in order for it to reduce the size of the cabinet, the party must establish how it plans to reconfigure certain functions of ministries.

"However, for this to happen, we must radically rethink the shape and function of government from the top down. An essential first step in this process is reconfiguring government to create a nimble, cost-effective executive designed to maximise service delivery and tackle head-on South Africa's primary challenges: unemployment and poverty," the party says.

The ministries the DA is proposing to have are:

1. Economic and Enterprise
2. Economic Infrastructure
3. Finance
4. Basic Education
5. Further Education, Skills Innovation
6. Health and Social Development
7. Integrated Planning and Service Delivery
8. Police
9. Local and Provincial Government
10. Home Affairs
11. Agriculture and Land Reform
12. Justice and Correctional Services
13. Environment
14. Foreign Affairs
15. Defence

The party launched its manifesto at the 20,000 capacity Rand Stadium in Johannesburg on Saturday.