Too many chiefs, not enough Indians: ‘Fire SABC execs, keep the workers’

Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Groenewald has suggested the sacking of the SABC’s executives, instead of rank-and-file workers, as a means to reduce the corporation’s massive salary bill.

The exorbitant salaries of SABC executives has been under spotlight in recent weeks, and Groenewald believes ordinary workers shouldn’t be the ones paying the price for the extravagance of those at the top.

“It has now reached a point where the price for the extravagance must be paid and suddenly those keeping the engine of the ship going – newsreaders, writers and technicians – are the ones who are being retrenched. Rather get rid of the top management and executive authority and reduce the inflated salaries. That is the only way to save the SABC ship from going under,” Groenewald said.

He demanded answers from Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams on how and why the chief operating office (COO) of the SABC, Ian Plaatjies, earned more than the president of the country, while the corporation had consistently been making losses.

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Groenewald criticised Ndabeni-Abrahams, who justified the high salaries of executives by claiming they deserved the R42.5 million they were paid in 2016.

Groenewald cited the case of former SABC COO, Hlaudi Motsoeneng, who earned R4.197 million during the 2015-2016 financial year while the broadcaster had a deficit of R411 million. He compared that to the R2.75 million salary of former president Jacob Zuma, which was almost half of what Motsoeneng earned.

“The current president, Cyril Ramaphosa’s, salary amounts to R3.1 million, which is still significantly less than what Motsoeneng and his senior colleagues were earning five years ago,” Groenewald said.

The Citizen recently reported that management and supervisors constituted 86% of the SABC’s 3167-strong workforce, while ordinary employees made up just 14%. This means the organisation has an average of six managers for every ordinary employee.

According to the SABC, its employees earned an average of R791,000 per month. This average included executive salaries, which means there are those lower down the pyramid earning significantly less than this.

The gravy train keeps riding

The corporation has incurred a R511 million loss for the 2019-2020 financial year, with R292 million incurred in irregular expenditure, and R27 million in fruitless and wasteful expenditure.

Despite this, executives and directors were rewarded R41.7 million in total.

Of this amount, a whopping R5.4 million went to group chief executive officer Madoda Mxakwe, R3.2 million to chief financial officer Yolande van Biljon, while COO Plaatjies received R1.4 million.

The board chairperson, Bongumusa Makhathini, earned R957,000 and deputy chair Mamodupi Mohlala-Mulaudzi earned R290,000, and ordinary board members earned between R403,000 and R497,000 each.

During the debate on the SABC in Parliament this week, Groenewald questioned Ndabeni-Abrahams about the exorbitant salaries.

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“The minister must explain to South Africa’s taxpayers how it is possible for a chief operational manager to be worth almost twice as much as the country’s president. The FF Plus has long since pointed out that exorbitant salaries are a problem not only at the SABC, but also at all state institutions. This is a shining example of the gravy train,” Groenewald said.

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