R19m and counting: How top Lottery executives coin it

GroundUp's ongoing investigation of the Lotteries Commission shows it's a lucrative place to work, but some government agencies are sitting even prettier.


More than R14 million was spent on executive salaries at the National Lotteries Commission in the year ended March 2019. This was revealed in a report tabled in parliament last month.

The Commissioner, Thabang Mampane, was paid R3.6 million in the year to end March, including her bonus; the chief operating officer, Phillemon Letwaba R3.35 million, including a performance bonus of R447,000, and the chief information officer, Mothibi Ramusi, just over R3.2 million.

In 2019, more than R14 million was spent on executive salaries, as well as an additional R2.3 million on performance bonuses, nearly R1.5 million on provident fund contributions, R540,000 on travel allowances and R295,000 on allowances for cellphone bills.

In total, almost R19 million was allocated to just seven people (including salaries, bonuses, provident fund contributions and allowances).

The executive salaries are revealed in the NLC’s latest annual report.

The NLC currently employs 307 staff members, including its seven executives.

This year, the top four executives received an average salary increase of R270,500.

However, the NLC’s top executive salaries are less than half of the highest-earning executives in 24 government-funded agencies last year.

With her 2017/18 salary of R3.4 million, Mampane came in at number 16 on the list.

The National Housing Finance Corporation’s Samson Moraba was the top-earning executive last year, taking home R8.855 million, followed by the Road Traffic Management Corporation’s Makhosini Msibi (R7.969 million) and the Financial Services Board’s Dube Tshidi (R7.284 million).

Republished from GroundUp

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