The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) spent over R43 million during the 2023/24 financial year on the salaries of senior management, executive management and its board, the public broadcaster’s annual report has revealed.
The 11 Non-Executive Board Members, led by board chairperson Khathutshelo Ramukumba were paid a combined R8.49 million for the 2023/2024 financial year, while the four Executives Board Members, were paid a combined R9.875 million and the rest of senior management was paid R25.3 million.
The SABC appointed Nomsa Chabeli as Group Chief Executive in January. Despite serving just two months, the annual report showed Chabeli was netted a cool R931,000 despite only having a two-months before the end of the 2023/24 financial year.
The SABC also paid the former GCEO Madoda Mxakwe R2.052 million for a three month service period.
While Mxakwe left the SABC last year June, the announcement of Chabeli as the new GCEO was made in November 2023.
The SABC also paid Chief Financial Officer Yolande van Biljon R3.455 million. She resigned as CFO in October.
In terms of the Non-Executive Board Members, Ramukumba was the highest paid member, getting paid R1.098 million while the Deputy Chairperson Nomvuyiso Batyi was the second highest paid member with a remuneration of R951,000.
The rest of the Board was paid from around R550,000 to just under R750,000. This was all revealed in the SABC annual report for 2023/2024.
The Non-Executive Directors on the Board for SABC consists of a Board Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson and nine board members.
Here is look at the earnings of the Non-Executive Board Members.
| Name | Title | Total Remuneration | Meetings Attended |
| Khathutshelo Ramukumba | Board Chairperson | R1.098 million | 23 |
| Nomvuyiso Batyi | Deputy Chairperson | R951,000 | 22 |
| Dr Renee Horne | Member | R737,000 | 22 |
| Tseliso Thipanyane | Member | R652,000 | 22 |
| Phathiswa Magopeni | Member | R693,00 | 22 |
| Aifheli Makhwanya | Member | R588,000 | 22 |
| Magdalene Moonsamy | Member | R574,000 | 22 |
| Rearabetsoe Motaung | Member | R552,000 | 21 |
| David Maimela | Member | R644,000 | 23 |
| Dinkwanyane Mohuba | Member | R712,000 | 23 |
| Mpho Tsedu | Member | R616,000 | 23 |
| Palesa Kadi | Member | R675,000 | 17 |
According to 2023/2024 annual report, the Non-Executive Directors receive fees for their contribution to the Board and the Committees on which they serve.
The report showed that eleven committee meetings were held during the financial year.
The attendance of members at the Governance and Nominations Committee of which Ramukumba, Batyi and Makhwanya attended 11 while Thipanyane attended 10.
Here is look at the earnings of the Executive Board Members.
| Name | Title | Total Remuneration | Meetings attended |
| Nomsa Chabeli | Group Chief Executive | R931,000 | - |
| Madoda Mxakwe | Group Chief Executive (former) | R2.052 million | 4 |
| Yolande van Biljon | Chief Financial Officer | R3,455 million | 23 |
| Ian Plaatjes | Chief Operations Officer | R3.437 million | 21 |
– Madoda Mxakwe (former Group Chief Executive Office): R2.052 million broken down in to R932,000 as a basic salary; R948,000 for expenses and other allowance; and R172,000 for employer’s contribution to pension fund, medical aid and other expenses.
– Yolande van Biljon (Chief Financial Officer): R3.455 million broken down in to R2.209 million as a basic salary; R858,000 for expenses and other allowance; and R388,000 for employer’s contribution to pension fund, medical aid and other expenses.
– Ian Plaatjes (Chief Operations Officer): R3.437 million broken down in to R2.318 million for basic salary; R638,000 for expenses and other allowance; and R481,000 for employer’s contribution to pension fund, medical aid and other expenses.
– Nomsa Chabeli (current Group Chief Executive Office): R931,000 broken down in to R596,000 for basic salary; R223,000 for expenses and other allowance; and R112,000 for employer’s contribution to pension fund, medical aid and other expenses.
Ramukumba, Maimela, Mohuba, Tsedu and Van Biljon attended 23 Board Meeting while Batyi, Magopeni, Makhwanya, Moonsamy, Horne and Thipanyane attended 22 meetings.
Motaung and Plaatjes attended 21 meetings and Kadi was at 17 meetings.
Operating loss for SABC
The annual report from the public broadcaster also revealed that the SABC reported a net operating loss for the year of R192 million.
This was a notable improvement in comparison to the loss of R826 million in the previous year.
The improvement in the operating loss for the SABC represents an improved performance of R634 million (77%), according to the annual report.
The SABC reported total revenue of R5.1 billion while the operational expenses stood at R5.3 billion and tax benefits was R3.2 million.
The total revenue was made up of commercial revenue (R4.1 billion) which consists of advertising and sponsorship revenue; non-commercial revenue (R1.0 billion) and net interest (R9 million).
The key drivers of operational expenses employee costs (40%); content amortisation (21%); signal distribution and linking costs (12%); and other expenses (27%).
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