Even when they lose, they win
Dumped by Zuma, ex-ministers laugh all the way to the bank
CABINET ministers who resigned from parliament immediately after being dropped from President Jacob Zuma’s new cabinet were not just sulking, but they opted not to lose out on millions of rands in “loss-ofoffice gratuities”.
Former tourism minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk, who quit parliament last week after serving in the legislature for four terms — including two as cabinet minister and a short stint as premier of the Western Cape — is one of the four ministers who will be smiling all the way to the bank when their generous “gratuities” are paid.
The tip from the taxpayer is paid to MPs and ministers when they retire or resign from their positions, and is listed by the Political Office-Bearers’ Pension Fund as a resignation or retirement benefit.
Van Schalkwyk stands to score just more than R2.8-million with the gratuity due to him after completing four terms as a public representative in both the Western Cape legislature and the National Assembly, from which he retired as a cabinet minister earning a gross monthly salary of R175 550.
Former correctional services minister S’bu Ndebele, who served a similarly long period in political office, stands to pocket the same amount after quitting last week.
Van Schalkwyk declined to comment on the matter, saying he was no longer in public life.
Ndebele strongly denied that his resignation was motivated by the gratuity because he had not known about it when he decided to step down as an MP.
He had known about his pen- sion, to which he had contributed for the 20 years he had been part of the executive.
“Every worker contributes to their pension. I’m not aware of the gratuity, just the pension. It’s the first time that I’m retiring, so I don’t know what people get when they [retire],” he said.
Asked why he had suddenly resigned as an MP once Zuma had dropped him from the cab- inet, he said: “The president resigned in 2005, Comrade Baleka [Mbete] resigned, and no one asked questions of them.”
He was referring to Zuma’s resignation as an MP after he was fired as deputy president in 2005 and Mbete’s resignation from parliament after the 2009 elections when it became clear Zuma would not make her his deputy.
Former women and children’s minister Lulu Xingwana will also get a golden handshake after serving 20 years as an MP.
Former deputy minister of social development Maria Ntuli will be R2.3-million richer after serving parliament for 20 years.
Her amount is R500 000 less because deputy ministers earn less than ministers.
Axed National Assembly speaker Max Sisulu, who also quit last week, goes home with R826 124. Sisulu, Xingwana and Ntuli could not be reached for comment.
The salary earned by ministers on their date of retirement or resignation from parliament is used to determine the handsome loss-of-office gratuity due to them.
All ministers and MPs who complete at least a five-year term in office qualify for the benefit and receive a gratuity of four months’ pensionable salary for every five years of service completed.
The former ministers would have had their gratuities cut by more than half to R1.2-million had they opted to stay on and resign later at the salaries of backbench MPs, who earn R77 821 a month.
Former ANC MP Roy Ainsley, a trustee of the Political OfficeBearers’ Pension Fund, said the gratuity was designed to augment the pension benefits of officials who first joined parliament in 1994.
He said that was because many had been in exile and had had no opportunity to do any work that paid them salaries and pensions. “The principle was for members who came to parliament for the first time in 1994 . . . many had nothing. If you served five years, you would leave with next to nothing in terms of a pension.
“So it was a way of making up to ensure that people have something to live with.”
But he said it was perhaps time to revisit the arrangement because MPs were starting younger and had enough time to build their pensions.