Former Vodacom Group CEO Alan Knott-Craig has confirmed a Sunday Times report that he is being paid a monthly fee by the JSE-listed cellphone group, despite having retired in 2008. But he has denied the newspaper’s claim that he is earning R1m/month.

The Sunday Times front-page article says the contract between Knott-Craig and Vodacom was set up in March 2009 and is set to run for two years.

“The lucrative deal was struck … after Vodacom learnt that fixed-line operator Telkom was planning to launch its own cellular business. The contract … ensured that Knott-Craig could not be recruited by Telkom,” the newspaper says.

There had been speculation at the time that Telkom was interested in Knott-Craig’s services.

According to the Sunday Times, Vodacom did not have an “ironclad restraint-of-trade agreement with its former CEO when he retired”.

In a statement issued on Sunday in reaction to the article, Knott-Craig says he has a two-year agreement to “render services” to his successor, Pieter Uys, personally. The agreement “also restrains me from working in SA”, he says.

“[Uys] approached me in March 2009 with a proposal to this end and consequently concluded a contract with me,” he says.

“This agreement prohibits me from working in any way for any company in the ICT industry in SA, and in effect totally prohibits me from seeking employment in my field of expertise.

“I have, and continue, to render services to [Uys] at his behest, and fund all my own travel and office expenses.

“While I cannot disclose my remuneration, my before-tax monthly remuneration is significantly less than half the R1m quoted by the Sunday Times.” — Staff reporter, TechCentral

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