How much MTN South Africa’s CEO gets paid

MTN South Africa CEO Charles Molapisi’s total remuneration package in 2022 was R34,071,000  — around R9 million more than he made in 2021.

Molapisi was appointed CEO of MTN’s South African business on 1 January 2022, explaining the sharp increase in his annual compensation.

Godfrey Motsa was the MTN South Africa CEO before Molapisi, and he was paid substantially more by the time he left the company.

In the 2021 MTN integrated annual report, the company disclosed that Motsa received R51.4 million in 2021.

However, this included notice pay and a restraint of trade payment. The exact values of these payments were undisclosed, although they were included in the ‘other benefits’ line item of his remuneration.

But, even if you were to remove that line item altogether, Motsa’s pay would still total R39.4 million — about R5 million more than what Molapisi currently receives.

Molapisi’s remuneration figure in MTN’s latest integrated annual report includes his basic salary, short-term incentives, the vesting of long-term incentives the company gave him in the past, and long-term incentives that will vest in years to come.

Before becoming MTN SA CEO, Molapisi was MTN’s Group Chief Technical and Information Officer. He was formerly the CEO of MTN Zambia.

Molapisi took over as CEO of MTN SA at a challenging time for the African telecommunications giant in South Africa.

Like other major network operators, the company has made massive investments to make its infrastructure resilient against load-shedding and battery thieves.

Molapisi said the company aims to go completely off-grid at most sites.

MTN said it invested R1.5 billion last year into backup power for its infrastructure so network quality is not affected by load-shedding.

Of its R9 billion capital expenditure budget for 2023, the network operator expects to use up to R2 billion to equip base stations with alternative power sources like batteries, generators, and solar power.

The company warned it would have to raise prices for data and voice minutes to offset these high investment costs.

A pay cut for MTN’s Group CEO

Ralph Mupita, MTN Group CEP

MTN Group CEO and President Ralph Mupita’s total compensation for 2022 was R75,803,000.

This is not bad going, but it is around R3 million less than Mupita’s total remuneration in 2021.

Excluding the long-term incentives Mupita was given in 2022, which will only vest in years to come, he received just under R70 million. This is nearly R15 million less than he received in 2021.

His total remuneration is split between multiple streams, including a salary, short-term incentives, and long-term incentives.

Mupita’s R8.7 million basic salary increased by around R300,000 from 2021.

The largest component of his salary — which accounts for R36 million, or just under half of Mupita’s total remuneration — came in the form of long-term incentives.

These share plan incentives and awards are allocated based on the company’s success in implementing its objectives.

For instance, there is a long-term incentive attached to the company meeting its goal of carbon neutrality by 2040.

The main reduction in Mupita’s total remuneration came from his long-term incentives.

MTN’s share price was substantially higher in December 2021 than in December 2022, which could explain the difference.

After a stint as CEO for emerging markets at Old Mutual, the Zimbabwean-born Mupita joined MTN as group CFO in 2017. He was appointed as group CEO and President in 2020.

Other executives

Here is a summary of how other senior officials at MTN were compensated in 2022:

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