The public officials who earn up to R42,400 per day

Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of South Africa’s State-owned enterprises (SOEs) can earn up to R15.5 million a year, which equates to R42,400 every day. 

This was revealed through several Parliamentary Q&A sessions. These salaries are paid regardless of whether their organisations are performing or turning a profit.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has raised alarm bells over this unsustainable system. The party has accused government departments of allowing a culture of unchecked executive spending, poor oversight, and a lack of public accountability to flourish. 

DA findings based on parliamentary replies and public salary disclosures show that more than R400 million is spent each year on executive salaries. 

This almost half a billion rand spans just 13 departments overseeing 117 entities, often with little to no link between performance and pay.

“The full cost is likely far higher. South Africa has nearly 700 SOEs, but only a small number have disclosed executive compensation figures in response to parliamentary inquiries,” the party said. 

At the top of the list is the CEO of the Development Bank of South Africa, who earns R15.5 million annually, making them one of the highest-paid public officials in the country.

Transnet’s CEO receives R8.5 million a year, despite the entity struggling with operational failures, port inefficiencies, and rolling stock backlogs. 

These challenges persisted even after Transnet received a massive R47 billion bailout in 2023.

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) pays its CEO R7.8 million annually, despite a long history of corruption, mismanagement, failed infrastructure projects, and poor audit results. 

The CEO of the Road Accident Fund (RAF) earns R7.1 million, while the organisation remains technically insolvent and burdened with tens of billions of rands in unpaid claims.

Other examples include the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which paid its CEO R6.92 million,  including R2.3 million in bonuses over two years, even while breaching DPSA guidelines. 

South African Airways (SAA), still heavily reliant on state support after its business rescue, compensates its CEO with R6 million. 

At Air Traffic Navigation Services, the CEO earns R6.14 million while operating under financially constrained conditions without clear justification for such pay.

The Central Energy Fund pays its CEO R6.15 million despite ongoing losses and poor performance by its subsidiaries. 

Rand Water, which continues to face water outages and infrastructure failures in Gauteng, pays its CEO R5.4 million. 

PetroSA, operating at a loss and dependent on government support, pays its CEO R5.8 million. The DA argued that such executive compensation must be reviewed urgently.

SOE executive pay must be reviewed

Unlike private companies, where executive pay is often tied to financial performance and shareholder value, most SOEs are not held to such standards. 

Their CEOs’ compensation is based instead on frameworks set by the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) and other regulatory guidelines. 

However, parties like the DA said these guidelines are frequently ignored or bypassed, and many public entities continue to pay well above them, even when failing to deliver on their mandates.

“If such excesses are occurring at senior levels, it is reasonable to infer that similar practices may exist across all employment tiers within SOEs,” it said.  

The party insisted this is not just a budget issue, but a fundamental question of governance, integrity, and public service delivery.

As part of broader fiscal reforms, the DA has called on the Minister of Finance to include SOE executive pay in the government’s spending reviews. 

They’ve also urged the Minister of Public Service and Administration to introduce a standardised remuneration framework for public entities, in collaboration with National Treasury and other stakeholders. 

This framework would include mandatory disclosures and justification requirements for salaries that deviate from set norms.

The party further proposes that Parliament be involved in driving systemic reforms to align the governance of SOEs with the core principles of public service, transparency, accountability, and service to the people.

“These excessive salaries remain unjustifiable and an affront to the millions of South Africans who rely on basic services that are consistently failing,” the DA said.