Top executives of entities reporting to the finance minister are smiling all the way to the bank, taking home millions in generous remuneration packages, bonuses and other allowances.
Responding to a parliamentary question from the DA on what the CEOs of various financial organisations reporting to him earn, finance minister Enoch Godongwana revealed in detail the annual pay and other incentives of agencies such as Sars, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA), Land Bank and the Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA).
The CEO of the DBSA, Boitumelo Mosako, took home total earnings of R15.5m, inclusive of guaranteed pay, allowances and benefits as well as variable pay for the 2024/25 financial year. This was R5.5m more than the R10.5m she netted in 2023/24.
Sars commissioner Edward Kieswetter received allowances and contributions worth R161,502.60, which, combined with his salary of more than R8m, gave him a guaranteed total package of R8.2m. While no performance bonus was reported for 2024/25, Kieswetter received a R2m bonus in 2023/24. This was slightly lower than the R2.4m bonus he scored in 2022/23.
At the Government Employee Pension Fund, CEO Musa Mabesa's total cost-to-company package was R 6.7m, including:
- a basic salary of R4m;
- a cellphone allowance of R69,554;
- a non-pensionable cash allowance of R2.1m; and
- a retirement fund contribution of R504,361.80.
FSCA commissioner Unathi Kamlana's annual total remuneration package was R5.8m, made up of a basic monthly salary of R442,221.39 and a monthly employer contribution to the FSCA retirement fund of R47,774.61.
The total remuneration package for Themba Rikhotso, the CEO of the Land Bank, was R4.9m.
Independent Regulatory Board of Auditors’ CEO Imre Nagy was paid R4.7m, including a R406,668 pension fund contribution and a R23,580 telephone allowance.
Mpumi Tyikwe, CEO of Sasria — the state-owned insurance company that provides cover for damages caused by riots, strikes and other public disorders — received a basic salary of R4.6m and a retirement fund and medical aid contribution of just over R373,000.
Financial Intelligence Centre director Pieter Smit’s total cost to company was R3.6m.
While the head of the Government Technical Advisory Center position is graded with a remuneration package of R2.2m–R2.5m, the current acting head, Ronette Engela, got R1.9m and an allowance of R297,894 per annum.
Kedibone Madiehe, head of the Government Pensions Administration Agency also received a remuneration package of R2.2m, made up of:
- a basic salary of R1.5m,
- a R205,000 employer contribution to pension,
- a once-off thirteenth cheque of R131 832,
- a housing allowance R111,648,
- a vehicle allowance of R100,002 and
- a non-pensionable allowance of R128,854.30 with no performance bonus.
Godongwana said the ombud for financial services providers (FAIS), John Simpson, earned a total package of R2.1m. Godongwana said the ombud’s salary is solely determined by the minister, and he has never received a performance bonus.
I think if they were delivering services the public wouldn’t mind so much
— DA MP Leah Potgieter
Pension funds adjudicator Muvhango Lukhaimane was paid R3.8m in 2024/25, down from the R4.1m she earned in 2023/24.
CEO of the Ombud Council, Leanne Jackson, received a total remuneration package of R2.9m, a R6,900 medical allowance and a R1,580 monthly data and cellphone allowance.
Accounting Standards Board CEO Jeanine Poggiolini also received a R2.9m package in 2024/25, compared to R2.7m in 2023/24. She received a R22,380 bonus in 2024/25 compared to R46,596 in 2023/24.
DA MP Leah Potgieter, who put the question to the minister, said a CEO earning a large salary in the private sector needed to show a positive outcome or return, and the same should apply to these agencies.
“I think if they were delivering services the public wouldn’t mind so much. But the problem is that services are declining and salaries are rising. They need to be compensated for their skill level, but there is no clear guideline on how to do that,” she said.
While the finance ministry said the executives needed to be compensated on a par with their peers in the private sector, each agency did its own benchmarking outside of the department of public service & administration's guidelines. She said it appeared that over time, the worse an entity did the higher the salaries became.
“I don’t think the public would care if a CEO was earning R40m a year, as long as they were getting profit. But you don’t get paid R40m to ask for a bailout. I don’t think the public would care what they earned as long as they were performing.”
She said it was puzzling that many CEOs were receiving larger salaries than department directors when they were “basically doing the same job” in many instances.
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