Hall of Fame

At N$160 000 per month, Polytechnic of Namibia Rector Dr Tjama Tjivikua is the highest-paid head of a State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) rated in the Tier 2 category of such entities, a report seen by Namibian Sun states.

The report, containing a Cabinet-sanctioned analysis of remuneration levels at SOEs, reveals that NamPower Managing Director Paulinus Shilamba who takes home N$169 000 per month in total guaranteed pay (TGP), is the highest earner in Tier 3 of SOEs.

Tier 1 is led by Namibia Agronomic Board CEO Christoph Brock who earns N$1,06 million per year, which roughly translates into N$88 000 per month.

Tjivikua, Shilamba and Brock sit comfortably on top of their respective tiers, pending the submission of salaries of other executives in their groups who are yet to respond to the request of the State-Owned Enterprise Governance Council.

The Council, which falls under the Office of the Prime Minister, instructed its secretariat to conduct a survey among SOEs in order to determine whether the levels of remuneration at such entities were in line with a Cabinet directive on remuneration which was gazetted in 2010.

“The survey was done in response to non-adherence to the Cabinet directives by SOEs,” the document states.

The report castigates the Polytechnic of Namibia for its over-the-moon salary of Tjivikua, saying the academic institution is in violation of the gazette directive.

“Tier 2 shows the highest paid CEO (PoN) earning just under N$2 million. This figure is 94.22% higher than the recommended amount at the 90th percentile under Tier 2,” it reads in part.

The survey found that the highest-paid senior manager in this tier is Polytechnic Vice-Rector for Finance and Administration, Dr Gert Günzel, whose annual salary stands at N$1.4 million.

This, the Council says, is “more than what is recommended in the Cabinet directives.”

Shilamba’s salary, an annual package of N$2.3 million, exceeds the directed limit by 24.4%, the document says.

Tier 3 SOEs that had not responded to the Council’s request by the time of compiling the report were Air Namibia, Meatco, NamPost, the Road Contractor Company (RCC), Telecom and the University of Namibia.

Those who did not submit their salary reports in Tier 2 were the Namibia Airports Company (NAC), the Namibia Development Corporation (NDC), Namibian Wildlife Resorts (NWR), Roads Authority, Social Security Commission and the country’s petroleum flag bearer Namcor.

In Tier 1, those that have submitted their salary figures to the Council were the New Era newspaper, Namibia Agronomic Board (NAB), Namibia Tourism Board, Namcol and the National Heritage Council – with the State newspaper’s CEO earning the lowest annual salary of N$438 000.

“The difference between the highest paid CEO (NAB) and the lowest paid (New Era) in Tier 1 is 58%,” the report said.

A senior manager at the NAB takes home an annual salary of N$818 000, while at New Era a senior manager earns N$271 000 yearly, states the report.

“The majority of SOEs did not to date provide the requested information.”

The report concluded that there is general non-compliance with Cabinet’s directives on remuneration and that the Polytechnic “stands out as the most non-compliant SOE with close to 100% over the recommended 90th percentile for its Rector.”