An anti-corruption organisation has called for urgent reforms to how state-owned enterprises govern board remuneration, arguing that board pay remains weakly linked to performance despite taxpayers providing more than R520 billion in bailouts over 15 years.
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) released a report on Thursday examining remuneration practices for non-executive board members at Eskom, Transnet and South African Airways. The analysis found that pay structures are inconsistently transparent, vulnerable to political influence and rarely tied to measurable outcomes.
South Africa’s SOEs received more than R520 billion in government support between 2008 and 2023, according to the report titled “Enhancing Board Remuneration Governance in South African Public Institutions: A Comparative Analysis”. However, Outa said there is limited evidence that board pay aligns with operational improvements, financial stability or service delivery.
“South Africans have watched SOEs collapse while executives and board members continue to receive generous remuneration. That disconnect erodes trust and undermines accountability,” Robyn Pasensie, Outa parliamentary project manager, said in a statement.
The organisation benchmarked South African governance practices against those in New Zealand, Canada and India. While formal regulations exist domestically, the report found that enforcement is weaker and protection from political interference is less robust than in the comparator countries.
Pasensie said board remuneration should be tied to measurable performance outcomes, clear governance standards and transparent reporting.
“If an SOE collapses under a board’s watch, there must be accountability,” she said.
The report forms part of Outa’s broader governance reform work and supports a continued partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung for 2026. The collaboration will focus on policy position papers with legislative proposals and structured engagement with Parliament and oversight bodies.
The organisation said the aim is to close governance loopholes, strengthen consequence management and protect public funds.
“If boards are rewarded despite institutional failure, we entrench decline. If we align pay with performance and accountability, we send a different message. Deliver, or step aside,” Pasensie said.
Read the full report HERE.
