Motsoeneng’s salary: ANC cautions SABC

SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng. File picture: Motshwari Mofokeng

SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng. File picture: Motshwari Mofokeng

Published Sep 25, 2015

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Cape Town - The ANC has cautioned, in reaction to the latest salary increase awarded to SABC chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng, that the economic climate should be considered when determining public servants’ pay.

“The African National Congress calls for prudence on the use of public funds,” ANC spokesman Zizi Kodwa said in a statement on Thursday, a day after the SABC’s annual report was tabled in Parliament.

It revealed that Motsoeneng’s annual pay package had been increased to R3.78 million.

“The SABC board should not operate outside the framework of commitments provided by the National Treasury. It is our view that economic trends should dictate decisions, including remuneration for public servants,” Kodwa added.

He said the ruling party believed that any salary adjustment had to be “based on justifiable grounds”, such as the inflation rate which is widely used by the state and the private sector as a guideline.

“Our government has committed itself to tightening the belt including prudence within the public service broadly. Our failure to follow through with these commitments can only set a dangerous precedence that can’t be sustained and justified,” Kodwa said.

The SABC recorded a loss of R401 million in the past financial year, according to the annual report.

Motsoeneng has dismissed questions about the increase as racist, telling a media briefing: “It is not a sin for a black person to earn more money.”

The Democratic Alliance on Thursday formally requested Public Protector Thuli Madonsela to probe the pay hike

. In a letter to Madonsela, the party’s communications spokesman, Gavin Davis, said Motsoeneng’s salary progression seemed inappropriate, and more so because Madonsela had already faulted him in a 2014 report for ensuring that his salary was increased three times in the space of a year.

Madonsela recommended disciplinary action against Motsoeneng, who was at the time acting COO. Instead, he was in July appointed to the post on a permanent basis.

ANA

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