Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Opinion: Salary hikes for Wesgro head smacks of negligence, greed
Massive salary increases for Wesgro head smacks of negligence, greed and immorality
WITH South Africa and the world struggling through what looks likely to become the deepest economic depression in history, many high earners in the public and private sectors have taken salary cuts or committed portions of their salaries to initiatives to assist poorer citizens.
In this context, for the Western Cape government to approve massive salary increases to a former DA MP deployed to head a state-owned entity smacks of negligence, greed and immorality.
President Cyril Ramaphosa led by example when he announced in March that the salaries of Cabinet ministers would be cut by a third to support the Solidarity Fund, that was set up to cushion small businesses bashed by the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The president called on other public officials and leaders to respond with similar generosity.
Many of us proudly did so, conscious of the profound inequality in our country and our relative privilege.
The DA contributed R1.5 million, approximately 1%, or only R700 each, from the salaries paid annually to the party’s politicians – a figure that speaks volumes about the relationship between privilege and solidarity.
At more-or-less the same time, MEC for Finance and Economic Opportunities David Maynier was tabling a provincial budget including funds to award a 20% basic salary increase to the chief executive of Wesgro, former DA MP Tim Harris – plus an additional bonus of up to 20%. Harris’s salary for the year is now R2.6m, plus the bonus.
On April 3, in response to my parliamentary questions about Wesgro, Maynier claimed he was not consulted on Harris’s costly reappointment as Wesgro chief executive “and was taking the necessary steps to properly investigate and assess the board’s decision to increase the chief executive’s salary”.
Yet, less than a month before, Maynier himself tabled and approved the additional R25m for salaries to his department this year.
It is this money – taxpayers funds “found” by cutting drug rehabilitation programmes, among others – that enabled a one-third increase of Wesgro’s budget.
It would be nice to believe this is a one-off event, a slip up perhaps, but the R25m allocated by Maynier for additional salaries this year will, according to his budget, double to an additional R50m next year.
The debate on the Western Cape’s draft budget for 2020/21 was disrupted by the lockdown. I noted my objection to the proposed increased salary costs but the DA majority approved them.
Maynier, and his colleague, Deidré Baartman, the Western Cape’s committee chairperson for finance, economic development and tourism, criticised the ANC for the rising costs of SOEs – particularly staff salaries.
They pointed out that service delivery budgets had to be cut to accommodate the escalating salaries.
They are 100% correct.
As The Far Side cartoonist Gary Larson once said, “I’m not into cartoons. That’s the irony of it.”
Harris’s basic salary jumps from R2.17m in the last financial year to R2.6m this year.
For the next two years he will receive inflation plus 3% increases. The bonus he will be entitled to receive jumps with it, 20% this year, 25% next year and 30% in 2022. It sounds awfully like Eskom. Former Wesgro board member, Judith February, a lawyer specialising in governance, resigned after objecting to the chief executive’s salary.
According to February, due process was not followed.
The relationship between the chair, deputy chair and chief executive was “too close”, and including the chief executive in discussions about his remuneration – funded with public money – undermined effective oversight, she said.
It sounds awfully like the ANC.