Through the wall

[Sneeky]

Choo chooooo, all aboard!!!!

Back in September 2006, there was something of an uproar on news that Mandla Gantsho, outgoing CEO of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), was paid R6.2m for the financial year to 31 March 2006. This was a bollocking more than the R2.5m he scored in the previous year.

This was only the hint of weasel warrens concealed under the monster gravy trough that has developed for executive pay going to individuals at State-owned enterprises. These are either monopolies, such as Transnet or Eskom, or entities that fulfil special functions such as development. In either case, executives running these entities are effectively public servants, given that the 100% "parent company" is government. Yet these entities have invented cunning schemes to reap all the benefits of private sector pay packages, with none of the downside. Performance criteria, in particularly, are almost universally ignored

http://www.moneyweb.co.za/mw/view/mw/en/page84?oid=188087&sn=Detail

I was chatting to a customer who works for a big company in SA yesterday.
Middle aged Xhosa man whom I have known now for many years now through business and consider my friend. We hail from similar areas in the Eastern Cape and always chat fondly of 'home'.
After exchanging pleasantries we inevitably started talking about the power crisis and how it was affecting the area in which their factory is situated.
I was surprised at this persons lack of knowledge on the crisis, how it materialised, who caused it, and how long it was expected to last.
When I told him the last ESKOM CEO earned in excess of R900 000 per month he actually got annoyed with me thinking I was perhaps telling fibs!
Anyway, we had our chat, I sent him some stuff to read to substantiate what I had said, but why do the people not know about this?
This individual is well educated and certainly quite intelligent and I thought in touch with the goings on around him. I seem to be mistaken on the last bit.
The people need to be informed about these things or else they cannot make good choices.