Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba has suspended pay increases for CEOs and board members of parastatals until a remuneration policy has been put in place, according to the Times newspaper on Wednesday.
“Remuneration generally of executives is quite high and it doesn’t contribute to bridging the inequality gaps between the highest paid and the lowest paid,” Gigaba told Parliament’s standing committee on public accounts.
Gigaba reportedly took issue with the R10-million paid to Transnet Freight Rail CEO Siyabonga Gama as incentives and bonuses while he was suspended.
Gama was suspended in September 2009 and fired in June 2010. He was reinstated in February last year.
In light of the Gama issue, Gigaba said the issue of incentives paid to executives of state-owned enterprises should be reconsidered.
“We have to find a formula that allows us to be able to explain with a great degree of comfort the incentives that people get, which must be linked with performance.”
According to the Times, Gigaba said state-owned entities were battling to compete with the private sector on salaries, making it difficult for them to attract the best brains.
“The private sector keeps pushing up salaries and puts pressure on state-owned companies,” Gigaba said.
A presidential commission has been set up to review the remuneration of executives at state-owned companies. — Sapa