Academic welcomes probe into varsity bosses’ pay
● Committee calls for action to regulate senior executives’ salary packages
An outspoken academic has welcomed a call by the portfolio committee on higher education for a probe into the salaries and perks paid to vicechancellors at universities.
University of KwaZulu-Natal school of education professor Labby Ramrathan said he supported the move, provided that guidelines for determining salaries were developed, implemented and tracked.
On Thursday, the committee said it would request minister of higher education Blade Nzimande to commission an inquiry through the Council on Higher Education (CHE) into the remuneration of vice-chancellors.
In a media release, the committee said though universities set their own salaries, “the committee is concerned that the high remuneration levels paid to senior managers at universities are not commensurate with the performance of their institutions”.
Committee chair Philly Mapulane said: “This question of remuneration of senior executive managers, if left unattended, may become a runaway train, and therefore we are calling for action to regulate it.”
Mapulane’s call for a commission of inquiry comes in the wake of recent revelations in the Sunday Times of salaries and bonuses paid to vice-chancellors in 2018.
Unisa’s Mandla Makhanya took home R5.2m in 2018, including a R1.1m bonus for 2017. The second-highest earner, Tshilidzi Marwala, of the University of Johannesburg (UJ), took home R4.9m, which also included a R1.1m bonus.
Marwala donated R337,757 of his bonus to fund a scholarship for rural African women.
Stellenbosch University’s Wim de Villiers took home R4.8m.
Ramrathan, who previously said bonuses and perks paid to vice-chancellors were “getting out of control”, wanted the commission to explore how vice-chancellors’ salaries were determined.
“The inquiry should explore whether they [university councils] should have a say in the salaries of vice-chancellors.”
He said the question to ask was why some VCs were earning such high salaries while others’ salaries were “relatively low when the leadership and accounting responsibilities are the same across all public higher education institutions”.
DA portfolio committee member Belinda Bozzoli said universities were autonomous and had the right to spend their budget according to the decisions of their councils.
“Where it seems they have agreed to expenditure that is out of the norm, as is the case of [some] vice-chancellors’ salaries, it is probably best that this is dealt with through discussions with council chairs.”
Reacting to the story in the Sunday Times, Unisa said in a statement the payment of performance bonuses was not guaranteed, “but contingent on the achievement of agreed-upon specific objectives, the performance of the portfolio and, eventually, the performance of the institution”.
“Like all other employees of Unisa, the vice-chancellor enters into a performance agreement with the university’s council.
“He is subjected to a thorough assessment by the council and is awarded a performance bonus only if warranted by his performance score.”
Unisa said the 2018 performance bonuses for extended management and directors had not been paid yet.
Reacting to the portfolio committee’s call for a probe, Unisa spokesperson Martin Ramotshela said they would support and co-operate in any analysis of vice-chancellors’ salaries.
Wits University vice-chancellor Adam Habib has in the past said salaries should be regulated “to ensure the playing field is level when recruiting and retaining senior academic leaders in the sector”.
De Villiers was travelling overseas and could not be reached for comment, while UJ declined to comment.
Higher education spokesperson Ishmael Mnisi said that in terms of the Higher Education Act, the department had no power to determine salaries.
“We will further engage with the portfolio committee on the founding legislation establishing the universities and their governing structures and their responsibilities.”
Universities SA CEO Ahmed Bawa did not respond to media inquiries.