The Times *Execs creamed off Eskom* /Their salaries and bonuses increased by almost 50%/ *Brendan Boyle and Andile Ndlovu, The Times, Johannesburg, 5 August 2010*Eskom, the cash-strapped power utility, increased salary and bonus payments to its executive committee members by almost 50%, to R14.5-million, in the year to March.
According to the company's integrated financial and social report, tabled in Parliament yesterday, ousted CEO Jacob Maroga was paid R4.767-million in salary and bonuses for the six months he worked in the 2009-2010 financial year. He cashed in an additional R1.06-million in share options.
Maroga, who was dismissed in October, is awaiting judgment on a claim for payments of more than R85-million.
The report says Brian Dames, who succeeded Maroga in July, was paid a total of R5.7-million in the year to March. That was up from R2.98-million in the previous financial year. He also cashed in R756000 in share options which vested in December 2009.
Total payments to the company's four executive committee members jumped from R9.12-million in 2008-2009 to R14.51-million in the year to March 2010.
Salaries accounted for R8.8-million of the 2010 total. Dames' package for the year to March comprised R3.3-million in salary, R2.16-million in bonuses, and R230000 in car and security allowances. He also holds a housing loan of R3.2-million at an interest rate of 8.5%.
Eskom workers called off a wage strike a month ago after the corporation raised its offer to 9% from 8.5% - nearly double South Africa's inflation rate of 4.6% - and said it would pay a R1500 a month housing allowance, up from its previous offer of R1000.
Eskom said in its annual report that it faced "cumulative cash shortfalls of R115-billion by 2013 and R190-billion by 2017 - the year in which the Kusile power station is fully commissioned".
National Union of Mineworkers spokesman Lesiba Seshoka said the union - representing the bulk of Eskom's workforce - was not surprised by the news.
"We know that these guys [ executives] see [the parastatal] as a honeymoon destination .
"What this is telling the poor is that we are living in Animal Farm, and the animals at Eskom are more important than the rest of us."
He said that, thanks to electricity price hikes "money is going to the pockets of Eskom's executive committee who have no idea how to run the power grid".
Solidarity's deputy general secretary, Dirk Hermann, said: "Eskom has a history of paying huge bonuses during insensitive times. It sends a bad message to the public".
But a member of Eskom's media office said yesterday that Dames' salary would not have been approved by the government and the parastatal's board if it had not been necessary.
The National Energy Regulator, Nersa, granted Eskom tariff increases of about 25% for this year and for each of the following two years to help it meet the rising cost of coal and to fund its budget shortfalls.
*From: http://www.timeslive.co.za/local/article589175.ece/Execs-creamed-off-Eskom*
-- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] .
<<image/jpeg>>
