The money MTN paid its top executive management team, including its former CEO Sifiso Dabengwa, jumped to R165,6m in the 2015 financial year. That’s an increase of 18,8% over the R139,4m it paid in 2014, driven higher in large part by three golden handshakes.
Apart from handing over more than R36m (of which R23,7m was in the form of a golden handshake) to Dabengwa — he left MTN’s employ suddenly in November last year — two other former top executives were paid out more than R15m.
They are:
- Former group chief operations executive Zunaid Bulbulia, who received R19,7m, of which R13,3m was for compensation for loss of office (severance, restraint-of-trade and gratuity pay).
- Former MTN Nigeria CEO Michael Ikpoki, who received R26,9m, of which R17,3m was for compensation for loss of office (severance, leave and lifestyle benefits). Ikpoki left MTN following the imposition of a record-setting US$5,2bn fine (now $3,9bn) on the operator’s Nigerian subsidiary by regulators for failing to disconnect more than 5m unregistered Sim cards.
Cumulatively, the group paid Dabengwa, Ikpoki and Bulbulia R54,2m in severance pay.
Other big earners, who took home salaries north of R10m, are former group chief strategy officer Karel Pienaar (R16,4m), who retired at the end of last year, and group chief operating officer Jyoti Desai (R13m).
Former MTN South Africa CEO Ahmad Farroukh was paid R5,1m for seven months’ work and his replacement, Mteto Nyati, who was promoted from group chief enterprise officer to take over the troubled South African operation, took home R8,1m.
Group chief consumer officer Albert Fernandez was also a big earner, taking home R6,1m for eight months’ work. — (c) 2016 NewsCentral Media
