Top executives at South African state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are earning up to R15.5 million annually, with some pocketing R42,400 per day even as their companies struggle with operational failures. A recent analysis conducted by GroundUp and The Outlier on 7 August 2026 reveals that managers at these entities earn, on average, 14 times more than their lowest-paid employees.
The Growing Divide In Remuneration
The disparity is starkest at the South African Civil Aviation Authority, where the CEO earned an average of R9.7 million in the 2024/25 financial year. This figure represents 93 times the annual salary of the lowest-paid workers at the agency, who earn approximately R104,000 per year.
Labour unions have criticised this widening gap as a failure of oversight. Speaking on behalf of the South African Municipal Workers’ Union, a representative argued, “It does not make sense how a Municipal Manager can be remunerated 180 times more than the least paid employee in the sector. These are the people who are responsible for the real business of service delivery.”
Legislative Shifts And Accountability
Changes to the Companies Act, which took effect on 22 May 2026, now mandate that state-owned and public companies must subject their remuneration policies and annual reports to a binding shareholder vote. This follows a long period where SOEs operated under non-binding guidelines released by the Department of Public Enterprises in August 2007.
A report from PwC highlights the significance of this transition for corporate boards. At face value, executive pay outcomes in South Africa appear well supported. Shareholders endorsed remuneration outcomes at an 83.8% approval rate last year, but that support was under a non-binding regime; the binding vote changes the equation entirely,” the firm noted.
Research suggests that the issue is compounded by an inverse relationship between executive pay and the financial performance of commercial SOEs. As these entities frequently generate revenue independently of the national Treasury, they often bypass standard government salary scales, leaving the public to question the justification for such high compensation packages in the face of persistent financial losses.
The desk will continue to monitor the outcomes of the first round of binding votes under the new legislation to determine if executive pay begins to align more closely with operational performance.