The salaries of the top university executives in the country are under scrutiny from the legislature.
Parliament’s portfolio committee on Higher Education, Science and Technology is calling for an investigation into how much top Vice Chancellors of public universities are earning.
They say their high income is not proportional to the performance of the institutions they head.
“The committee will request the minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology to commission an inquiry into the remuneration of universities’ vice-chancellors and other senior executive managers and to report to parliament,” said committee chairperson Philly Mapulane after a meeting on Thursday, October 17.
“Universities are public institutions which must be accountable to the people of South Africa, through their elected representatives, about the prudent management of their finances.
“This question of remuneration of senior executive managers, if left unattended, may become a runaway train and therefore we are calling for action to be taken to regulate it,” he said.
From available 2017 and 2018 data, this is what some of the Vice Chancellors from leading universities are taking home annually.
| Vice Chancellor |
University | Salary |
|---|---|---|
| Professor Tshilidzi Marwala | University of Johannesburg | R4 907 529 |
| Professor Wim de Villiers | Stellenbosch University | R4 840 000 |
| Professor Adam Habib | University of Witwatersrand | R4 484 000 |
| Dr A S van Jaarsveld | University of KwaZulu Natal | R3 792 000 |
| Professor Mandla Makhanya | University of South Africa (Unisa) | R3 788 000 |
| Dr Max Price Professor Mamokgethi Phakeng |
University of Cape Town University of Cape Town |
R3 672 852 R3 224 224 |
| Professor Dan Kgwadi | North-West University | R3 532 000 |
| Dr Sizwe Mabizela | Rhodes University | R2 991 000 |
* University of Cape Town had 2 Vice Chancellors in 2018, each working 6 months.
