While the high salaries of South African telecoms CEOs often come under fire, these individuals are responsible for delivering shareholder value in tough markets across Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Telecoms revenues and customers regularly show strong growth across the continent, especially considering the hostile economic environment, power shortages, and foreign currency devaluations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Vodacom’s 2024\/25 integrated report, Vodacom Group CEO Shameel Joosub received a total remuneration package of R71.1 million before taxes and other deductions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Joosub’s gross salary without additional benefits, at roughly R18.43 million, was a relatively small portion of his total package.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Long-term incentives (LTIs) and short-term incentives (STIs) were the most significant contributors to Joosub’s earnings, adding R46.6 million to his total remuneration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The LTIs and STIs are determined by an executive’s performance based on metrics established by shareholders through annual general meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In some cases, it may be intrinsically linked to share price performance. For example, Joosub currently holds 300% of the required co-investment in Vodacom shares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is important to emphasise that all the figures above exclude tax obilgations. Many of South Africa’s top telecoms executives are paying nearly half their salaries in taxes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Of the R71.1 million Joosub earned, close to R32 million went to the South African Revenue Service, bringing his net salary to around R39.1 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While Joosub’s total salary increased by 15% from the year before, Vodacom’s share price was up nearly 30% between the start and the end of the year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Below is a summary of Joosub’s remuneration package for Vodacom’s 2024\/25 financial year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita was the second-highest-earning telecoms CEO during the year. However, his total pay package declined from R80.4 million to R64.8 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n MTN South Africa CEO Charles Molapisi took a more marginal pay cut, with his total package dropping from R26.9 million to R26.3 million. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Several MTN shareholders were not happy <\/a>with the company’s executive remuneration, with 24.34% voting against the remuneration policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The remuneration implementation report saw even less support, with 40.82% of shareholders voting against it, more than the 25% needed to stop the report from passing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While MTN’s share price has rebounded substantially over the last few months, it dropped by roughly 19.29% during the company’s previous financial year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, Telkom CEO Serame Taukobong received the biggest pay increase, with his total remuneration increasing from R19.23 million to R33.29 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\nVodacom Group CEO remuneration package <\/th><\/tr><\/thead> Basic salary<\/td> R18,429,808<\/td><\/tr> Other benefits<\/td> R19,800<\/td><\/tr> STI<\/td> R21,461,114<\/td><\/tr> LTI<\/td> R25,135,588<\/td><\/tr> Siyanda units vested<\/td> R253,453<\/td><\/tr> Dividends<\/td> R5,801,176<\/td><\/tr> Total pay before tax<\/strong><\/td> R71,100,938<\/strong><\/td><\/tr> Tax contribution<\/td> R31,995,422<\/mark><\/strong><\/td><\/tr> Total net pay after tax<\/strong><\/td> R31,105,516<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n MTN execs take cuts as high-performing Telkom CEO earnings rise<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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