I am worth R3.7 million: SABC’s Motsoeneng

·25 Sep 2015

Controversial chief operating officer of the SABC, Hlaudi Motsoeneng, says he is worth his latest salary increase.

Motsoeneng’s salary has risen to R3.7 million, from R2.872 million before, making him better paid than the president, Jacob Zuma.

The salary hike included a bonus of R279 000 and R916 000 in expenses and allowances. The SABC also contributed R369 000 to his pension and medical aid fund.

The The African National Congress (ANC) called for prudence on the use of public funds. “We believe that any adjustment of salary has to be based on justifiable grounds like the rate of inflation which is largely used by both the state and the private sector as a standard criteria.”

In an interview with Talk 702, Motsoeneng said: “There is no way that Hlaudi can decide to pay himself. There are processes inside the organisation – senior people in this case, will decide, and HR, how much the COO shall be paid.”

When asked if he believed he was worth R3.7 million, Motsoeneng said: “I believe I am worth the money…I am responsible for the position of the COO, because that is what the SABC is paying.”

He said there are benchmarks and the SABC pays according to those benchmarks.

“I am not the only person who is being paid very well in the organisation. There are people who are getting paid more than Hlaudi, but people are not talking about such people within the organisation,” Motsoeneng said.

“SABC is doing very, very well. We as leaders inside that organisation, we are happy,” he said.

The public broadcaster reported a loss of R395 million during the last financial year.

When asked why the SABC made a loss, Motsoeneng said that SABC is run by people working very hard to raise funds to get revenue, not tax payers money.

“We are not in the business of profit,” he said.