You might be surprised to hear that there’s a South African civil servant currently earning three-times more than President Cyril Ramaphosa. This current arrangement makes him the best-paid government official in South Africa. Care to hazard a guess who it is?
The South African has already covered how President Ramaphosa made billions in the private sector outside of politics. So much so that he reportedly is able to donate his annual government salary to charity each year. Nevertheless, the South African civil servant with the distinction of earning three-times more is South African Revenue Service (SARS) commissioner, Edward Kieswetter, reports Business Tech.
SOUTH AFRICAN CIVIL SERVANT
While we believe those behind the Eskom turnaround of 2024 should also be in line for huge bonusses, it’s Kieswetter’s total remuneration for the year that’s making headlines. According to reports, the commissioner will earn R11.7 million this year. Including a base salary of R7.8 million, performance bonus of R3.6 million and allowances and pension contributions of R2.8 million.
Kieswetter’s compensation is tied to SARS’ impressive performance this fiscal year. According to the SARS annual report, gross revenue collected was R2.2 trillion, an increase of R87 billion from the previous year. And after disbursing R414 billion in refunds, SARS achieved a net revenue collection of R1.75 trillion – or 3.2% growth from the previous fiscal year.
BIG EARNERS
Nevertheless, the timing of this revelation has raised eyebrows, following Finance Minister Godongwana’s ‘reality check’ mid-term budget statement. In it, the minister explained that not all elements of the fiscus would be able to be satisfied in the upcoming fiscus due to belt-tightening. Moreover, it raises a familiar argument of South Africa’s high earners in public service versus economic inequality.
The second highest-paid public official is South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Lesetja Kganyago with R8.8 million (2022/23 financial year). Next is Parliamentary CEO Xolile George, who also reportedly earns well above President Ramaphosa’s annual salary of R4.2 million. This seemingly large disparity in compensation is quite rightly receiving plenty of public scrutiny in the face of government allocation spending and increasing unemployment across the board.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE SARS BOSS?
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