'E80 000 monthly salary to little'

MBABANE – Prince Lonkhokhela, Chief Executive Officer of the Swaziland National Provident Fund (SNPF), says he is underpaid.

He earns E960 000 per annum, which translates to about E80 000 per month.

He says he ranks among the lowly paid CEOs of government parastatals and deserves more because of the work he does.

The CEO based his argument on the Public Enterprises Circular Number 3 of 2010.

The circular sets guidelines for parastatals executives’ remuneration.

It stipulates that if the parastatal has an asset value of E720 million and anything above, the minimum pay for the CEO should be E1 040 000 or E86 700 per month. According to SNPF’s annual report for the year 2011, the parastatal has assets worth over E1.7 billion. This means that Prince Lonkhokhela should be paid E1 080 000 or E90 000 per month, depending on the discretion of the board.

Dlamini took up the post of CEO at the entity in 1997. Then, the organisation had only E300 million in its coffers and was experiencing huge financial difficulties. He says he steered it to greater heights, such that it now ranks among the best managed government entities in the kingdom.

Speaking in an interview with the Times SUNDAY, the prince complained.

"I am the lowest paid CEO yet I lead a huge organisation which is highly efficient and profitable," he said.

Last year, the Provident Fund paid nine per cent interest to members.

He said this was an achievement for the organisation considering the fact such was achieved under a very strenuous financial climate for the country and the international community.

He notes the low pay at the parastatal also affects the staff.

"The staff is always complaining about low wages. I am also not happy about this because my salary is also poor," said the prince.

He said the salaries were so meagre that the company was failing to be competitive in the job market.

The company has lost a number of staff members as a result.

To emphasise this point, the CEO said SNPF struggled to fill the post of Human Resources Manager (HRM) due to the poor salary offered.

"We tried to recruit an HR manager from Simunye. When we gave the officer an offer, it failed to attract him because it fell short of what he earned in his current job," he said.

The CEO said there was one manager in the finance department who left SNPF after he received an offer that was double his pay. "We manage to keep those we can because we offer job security and satisfaction. People stay because they are happy and they love the company," he said.

During the last financial year, salaries for employees increased by E3 million in total.

In 2010, SNPF spent E17 430 651 on salaries and wages and in 2011 the organisation paid E20 175 519.

Prince Lonkhokhela said the increase was due to inflation. He also said the money went up to over E3 million because the company filled some vacancies. Victor Nxumalo, Director of the Ministry of Finance’s Public Enterprises Unit (PEU) conceded that the SNPF boss was being paid a low wage. He said this may have been caused by the fact that he was on a permanent contract.

Nxumalo said the contract was under review but could not state whether his salary would significantly increase or not.

"The Board will decide on his salary but I can confirm that they are working on his contract now," he said.

Mduduzi Gina, Chairman of the SNPF board of directors, said the company was offering fair salaries.

"SNPF is in the financial sector industry. The salaries paid are market related. However, in some instances, they are lower than what most companies pay in the sector," he said.

SNPF chief’s ‘life-long’ contract

The prince will work at SNPF until such time that he feels he cannot work anymore or is fired for some transgression.

Mduduzi Gina, Chairman of the Board of directors, said the CEO will work at the parastatal until he retires.

He said the prince was employed on a non-fixed contract having been employed around the year 1997.

Gina said the board was hap-py with the wo-rk of the chief executive.

"He delivers to eve-ryone’s satisfaction. Wh-en he ca-me into office the entity was str-uggling but since he took the seat, he turned the parastatal into a viable and profitable organisation," he said.

He said the board was satisfied with his work, especially because he had transformed the parastatal to be one of the best managed government entities in Swaziland. He said the prince would soon receive a new contract of employment which is aimed at improving the existing one. "We look at the performance of the fund. We are satisfied with the excellent work he is doing," he said.

Gina said the Public Enterprises Circular which capped salaries for executives would not be considered when the contract was reviewed especially because it provides for a lower salary than what the prince earns.

When the CEO was interviewed on his contract, he confirmed that it was under review.

I don't mind the fact that you are ratting this man out, since he wants a salary for doing nothing. But your facts are not really true. es E960 000 divided by 12months equals E80 000, but did you allow for tax and deductions? No u did not, therefore before writing nonsense, make sure we have the facts, because he might not be paying as much tax, compared to the normal man, now that would be a story in the countries economic crisis. come on man, you guys are phathetic
Feb 19, 2012, 6:54 AM, msimisi

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