The total remuneration bill for Telkom’s executive and nonexecutive directors as well as its prescribed officers has declined between the 2013 and 2014, the telecommunications group’s latest annual report, published on Monday, shows.
The total amount paid to executive directors declined from R20m to R17,7m, largely as a result of suspended chief financial officer Jacques Schindehütte not receiving a short-term incentive bonus in the 2014 financial year, which ended in March. In the previous financial year, Schindehütte received a total package of R8,4m, which fell to R6m in the most recent reporting period.
Sipho Maseko, who was appointed as group CEO on 1 April last year, received a total package of R11,7m. He was paid a guaranteed R6,5m plus a short-term incentive of R5,2m and fringe and other benefits totalling R12 000. By way of comparison, former CEO Nombulelo Moholi took home a total of R11,6m, showing there was little change in salary when the leadership of the organisation changed last year.
There were no changes to the pay of nonexecutive directors between the 2013 and 2014 financial years. Chairman Jabu Mabuza earned R1,1m in directors’ fees and R310 000 for participating in committee and special meetings, for a total of R1,4m. In 2013, he took home R567 290, but he only joined the company more than halfway through the financial year.
The total salary bill for nonexecutive directors was R8,7m, down from R8,8m in 2013.
The total paid to prescribed officers (excluding executive directors) was R41,9m, from R48,8m in 2013. However, the sharp decline is mainly attributable to the large payout that controversial former executive Motlatsi Nzeku was given to leave the company.
Chief operating officer Brian Armstrong was highest paid among the prescribed officers, earning R7m — from R5,7m before. The next highest paid was acting chief financial officer Deon Fredericks, who earned R6,6m, from R5m previously. Included in Fredericks’s total is an allowance paid to him while he acted as chief financial officer from 24 October 2013 through to the end of the financial year in March. He has continued to act as finance chief in the new financial year while a hearing involving the suspended Schindehütte drags on.
Next best paid on the list is chief risk officer Ouma Rasethaba, who was paid R5,5m, from R4,5m in 2013. Thami Msubo and Enzo Scarcella earned R5m and R4m respectively. Although Scarcella, who was formerly with Vodacom, worked only two months of the financial year — February and March — he was paid a R3,3m sign-on bonus, which made him among the highest paid of Telkom’s prescribed officers during the financial year. — © 2014 NewsCentral Media
