May 2024

Inkululeko SA Media NPC

Co Reg: 2014/199607/08

May 2024

Dear Xolile,

I am Pauli van Wyk, a journalist with Scorpio, Daily Maverick’s investigative unit. I have
been researching your salary negotiations and contract deliberations, as detailed below.
It involves NCOP Chair Amos Masondo, former Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula and
chief legal advisor adv. Zuraya Adhikarie. Considering that Parliament’s term comes to end
this month, and considering the DA’s urgently tabled motion to establish an ad hoc joint
committee to investigate details relating to the inflated salary before end of term and
considering ANC Chief Whip Pemmy Majodina’s suggestion that the matter be looked into
urgently, Scorpio views this story as extremely urgent, newsworthy and of public interest.

Scorpio notes a number of attempts to initiate telephonic conversations and in-person

meetings. We are of the opinion that, given the facts gathered in this case so far, it would be
prudent and prescient to keep all communication in written format. The editors, cc’ed into
this email, will not engage in related correspondence.

Kindly return your answers by 14:00 on Tuesday, 14 May. After considering your
submission, Daily Maverick will publish at the editors’ discretion in line with our view that
the story is urgent, newsworthy and of public interest.

My research so far suggests the following:

2019 Memo by Executive Authority and Parliament’s wage bill
* In November 2019, former speaker Thandi Modise and NCOP chair Amos Masondo
signed a memorandum that states the salary of the secretary was to be adjusted
downward from around R2,9m to a range of R2,4m to R2,6m. The memo benchmarked

Inkululeko SA Media NPC - Reg: 2014/199607/08 - Directors: S. Charalambous, B. Brkic, I. Abedian

May 2024

the secretary of parliament’s salary against directors-general at government departments

as well as the secretaries at provincial legislatures;
* The secretary’s salary was not in line with salaries to directors-general and parliament
could not afford the spend;
* The memo was based on fiscal constraints, the Parliamentary budget and the fact of an
expected shortfall in the cost of employees;

Salary
* Your total annual package is R4 914 234;
* This includes a basic salary, 13th cheque, ER pension contribution, medical aid, housing
subsidy, vehicle allowance and cell phone allowance;
* Your monthly salary is R409 519, 50 before tax deductions as well as UIF and Group Life
employer contributions;
* Your annual package including UIF and Group Life contributions are just more than R5-
million per year;

21st Century report

* In a press release dated 9 October 2023, parliament states, without mentioning what the
annual remuneration is, that your package is the product of a “careful review process”
aimed to “maintain the package’s competitiveness, equity, alignment with industry norms,
and reflection of the role’s demands”;
* The package decision was based on a market related remuneration review conducted by
consultancy firm 21st Century, dated 15 December 2022;
* According to the 9 October 2023 press release, the review was relied on to “ensure that
the decision was unbiased, aligned with industry best practices, and free from any
subjective interests”;
* 21st Century used parameters roughly linked to parliament’s turnover, capital employed,
total assets and employees to benchmark market data from JSE listed companies and the
company’s database;
* The remuneration data for the secretary to parliament was benchmarked against CEO’s
and Managing Directors of private companies as well as some government departments.
The directors-general of government departments and the secretaries of legislatures were
not used as a benchmark;
* According to 21st Century, the total guaranteed package for CEO’s and MD’s in private
companies in the 10th percentile is R2,4m. The median is R3,2m and the 90th percentile is
R4,1m;

Inkululeko SA Media NPC - Reg: 2014/199607/08 - Directors: S. Charalambous, B. Brkic, I. Abedian

May 2024

* When short term incentives are included the total annual remuneration is R2,6m for the
10th percentile, R3,5m for the median and R4 428 315 for the 90th percentile.The short
term incentive is discretionary bonus and profit share related. This “is NOT a guaranteed
payment” (emphasis applied by 21st Century). The “payment is driven by performance,
and the particular performance measures…would vary based on the level of the incumbent
and their particular influence and line of sight”. 21st Century notes that “not all
organisations pay short term incentives every year”;

Contract of employment
* A copy of your fixed-term contract of employment, dated 18 January 2023, lists
remuneration, inclusive of benefits, as R4 428 315 per annum;
* Without any measurement of performance, or in fact the time in the job to allow for such
measurement, you receive as a total, basic guaranteed remuneration package the
equivalent of 21st Century’s benchmarking of a corporate company’s CEO/managing
director that earns in the 90th percentile, in a year in which that employee and business
performed exceptionally well, triggering carefully considered short term incentives to the
maximum value;
* Your predecessors signed a four page contract, inclusive of one annexure page. This
contract includes a number of benefits and gratuities the position never before offered,
were not included in the advertised position and/or were previously regarded as inclusive
of the total basic package;
* This includes provisions for the employer to “consider providing appropriate
accommodation to the employee commensurate with the position and level of
responsibility” and the employer may consider providing an appropriate vehicle, a driver
and a VIP protection officer to the employee, commensurate with responsibilities attached
to the position subject to advice from the law enforcement agencies”;
* The language used in the paragraphs quoted directly above is similar and/or in places
exactly the same as confidential negotiations you initiated before signing the offer of
employment in June 2022. Circumstances and evidence suggest that you wrote and
caused these sentences to be written into the contract;
* Evidence collected emanating from January 2022 suggests you negotiated your demands
around VIP security, which included a protector and a driver, a vehicle and accommodation
in Cape Town which, as per your instruction, would be fitting to the high profile position
similar of the executives in the Presidency and other government departments;
* Despite your basic package already pitched at the 90th percentile for a CEO/MD position
in the private sector benchmarked above the position of secretary of parliament / DG of

Inkululeko SA Media NPC - Reg: 2014/199607/08 - Directors: S. Charalambous, B. Brkic, I. Abedian

May 2024

department, and despite your basic package already including a bonus related short term
incentives portion for which you had done no work that could be measured, your contract
includes the entitlement to a “performance-based increase, considering the cost of living…
as well as any short- and long-term incentives as determined per applicable policies…”;
* In addition to the above, and upon termination of employment, you will receive a gratuity
payment - a clause added for the first time in the contract of the secretary of parliament;
* The amount of gratuity will be calculated based on two month’s pay for each completed
year of service. The gratuity will further be calculated on the monthly pay as at the date of
the termination. This gratuity “plus any other benefits due” will be paid on the date of
termination of the contract;
* Another strange addition to your contract, extremely beneficial to the employee, stipulates
that the employer must give the employee six months’ written notice or payment of six
months’ pay calculated at the prevailing value of remuneration at the time of termination.
This despite the fact that the employee may have failed to meet the requirements of the
position;

Events leading up to the signing of the contract of employment

* The events leading up to the signing of the contract of employment in January 2023 is
equally surprising;
* You signed an offer of employment on 5 May 2022;
* Thereafter, the Houses were required to consider your appointment, which it duly did;
* You were presented with an offer of employment by the Executive Authority dated 13 June
2022, which you did sign, along with a caveat. The offer was the cover page to the contract
of employment, which you repeatedly declined to sign. In both documents, the
remuneration package was clearly stated as “R2 604 661.00 per annum (cost to the
institution)” - meaning all benefits, gratuities and extras were included in the per annum
package;
* The contract of employment was the same four page contract of employment your
predecessors signed, with the exception of an updated remuneration package;
* There are two versions of the signed offer of employment. In both, in your handwriting, you
state: “I accept the offer…I specifically record that the agreement between the executive
authority and myself remains that the remuneration and/or benefits will be reviewed on.or
before 01 October 2022(sic)” and “offer of employment accepted with a condition to
negotiate a mutually agreed remuneration package;

Inkululeko SA Media NPC - Reg: 2014/199607/08 - Directors: S. Charalambous, B. Brkic, I. Abedian

May 2024

* This and other evidence mentioned above suggests there were a series of private
conversations and off-book deals done linked to your exorbitant salary. It further seems
that you had a material influence on the content of your contract;
* You repeatedly, over a period of more than six months calculated from 13 June 2022,
refused to sign the contract of employment stating R2,6m per annum as remuneration;
* This caused extreme tension between management of parliament, the executive authority
and the relevant legal advisers;

The signing of Ravi Moodley’s contract and payment of salary

* Your offer of employment states “acceptance” of the position is based on “signing and
returning the signed copy of this letter of appointment and a contract of employment” and
that “this offer is pending the finalisation of the contract to be negotiated and agreed to
between yourself and the Executive Authority”;
* Without signing a contract of employment, you assumed the duties of secretary of
parliament from 15 June 2022. You were provided with an access permit, office
accommodation, tools of trade and resources. Your authority was acknowledged and acted
on by the executive authority, the human resources department and the deputy secretary
of parliament in so far as that you were referred to as the secretary of parliament and sent
out letters and/or instructions as the incumbent of that position;
* On 29 June 2022, you signed a contract with Ravi Moodley as division manager, strategic
management and governance;
* The HR department refused to load the Moodley contract and then refused to pay
Moodley’s July salary due to its opinion that the lawful procedure and appointment of the
secretary of parliament, who signed the Moodley contract, has not been legally concluded.
The HR department further declined to load you on the parliamentary system, due to the
same reasons. The argument here seems to be on of irregular procedure, irregular
expenditure and fear of reprisal and/or negative findings from the Auditor-General;
* Approached for a legal opinion on the legality of the contract of the secretary of parliament
in July, adv. Frank Jenkins advised that the offer of employment constituted a contract,
“although the details might be absent”;
* Jenkins’ opinion solicited vehement opposition and disagreement from the HR department
and the legal advisers to the Executive Authority;
* In at least two legal opinions drafted by the legal advisers to the Executive Authority,
Mapisa-Nqakula and Masondo were reminded of the 2019 Memorandum mentioned
above. The opinion further advised that the salary negotiations with the secretary cannot
move beyond the agreed and advertised structure. The 5 May 2022 document was

Inkululeko SA Media NPC - Reg: 2014/199607/08 - Directors: S. Charalambous, B. Brkic, I. Abedian

May 2024

ineffectual after the Houses voted on your appointment, which necessitated the second set
of documents sent to you on 13 June 2022. The opinion also quoted a forecast from
Parliament’s treasury expecting that the total cost of employment will cause a shortfall of
almost R200m in Parliament’s budget;
* The instability and toxic contestation at parliament prevailed until Jenkins’ opinion was
supported by adv. Zuraya Adhikarie, chief legal adviser, in August, who wrote a
questionable memorandum dated 16 August 2022 in support of the secretary to
parliament’s unwillingness to sign his contract of employment;
* The memorandum is questionable for at least these two reasons:
a) Adhikarie states that “…a letter dated 13 June 2022 was presented to the secretary…
with the only material change being the commencement date (because of the delay in
the resolutions from the Houses) and the conditional provision of the “signed contract”
was removed”;
b) Adhikarie opines that, because parliament’s departments “acknowledged and acted
upon” the authority of the secretary from 15 June 2022 onwards, and because he was
provided with an access permit, office accommodation, etc., this constitutes acts of
employment. The refusal to implement and load the Moodley-contract signed by the
secretary is then “at odds with the prior conduct”;
* Adhikarie’s opinion, too, solicited disagreement from the executive authority’s legal
advisers and the HR department. Witnesses claim your refusal to sign the contract in
accordance with the law and previous directives caused a toxic environment, loud fights
and uncomfortable workplace circumstances. Based on Adhikarie’s opinion, the HR
department loaded the secretary on the system and continued to onboard Moodley;
* The secretary of parliament was effectively appointed and onboarded, it seems, based on
Jenkins and Adhikarie’s legal opinion, and not based on a legally binding contract as
advertised for the position. It is difficult to understand why, if the offer of appointment was
then indeed a binding contract, you and the Executive Authority then found it necessary to
conclude a contract in January 2023;
* This series of events accentuates the circumstances around the contract of employment
as well as the eventual signing of the contract of employment on 18 January 2023 at a
guaranteed remuneration package of R4 428 315, the secrecy the process is cloaked with,
the half-truths and misrepresentations offered to the media and Members of Parliament
and accentuates the need for an investigation into the matter;

Inkululeko SA Media NPC - Reg: 2014/199607/08 - Directors: S. Charalambous, B. Brkic, I. Abedian

May 2024

Additional increase in salary

* During wage negotiations, salary increases for staff were negotiated in December 2022 as
well as July 2023 - including for the secretaries. This increased your salary to its current
state;
* Based on legal advice, it seems questionable that you, as the accounting authority of
parliament and the employer, received an increase along with the employees;
* Twice within eight consecutive months are equally questionable;

Academic qualifications
* From your CV handed in for consideration by the multi-party panel during the interview
process in March 2021, it seems your highest qualification is an Executive MBA from the
Postgraduate School of Business in the Netherlands, received in 2002;
* The second seems to be an Honours degree in Agric Development Economics from the
University of Pretoria, received in 1994;
* Under the heading “academic qualifications”, which has a linguistic and legal meaning
implicating that the listed qualifications were obtained, you list a Masters degree in
Development Economics from the University of Pretoria, with the received date listed as
1996, but you add in this qualification line “1 project outstanding”.

In light of the above, my questions to you are:

1. Consider and review each point above and offer point-by-point comment on whether you
agree or disagree with the accuracy of the statement. Kindly add the necessary context
where you perceive the summary to be lacking;
2. Where you consider a statement to be a misrepresentation and/or based on incomplete
or limited information, kindly supplement these with your view;
3. Why would you list a masters degree in your CV, allegedly obtained and/or initiated by or
before 1996 from the University of Pretoria, when work is outstanding and, most
probably, the degree was not obtained? If the degree was indeed obtained with projects
outstanding, kindly attach proof of receipt of the degree;
4. The contract you signed, and allegedly had a hand in drafting, seems to be weighted in
favour of the employee. Particularly in the context of contracts of your predecessors,
what these contracts offered and the benefits you receive even in the case where the
Accounting Authority cancels your contract due to non-performance. What is your view?
5. Kindly provide the document to which adv. Adhikarie refers in that “the conditional
provision of the “signed contract” was removed”, as mentioned above;

Inkululeko SA Media NPC - Reg: 2014/199607/08 - Directors: S. Charalambous, B. Brkic, I. Abedian

May 2024

6. Why did you and the Executive Authority draft and sign a contract in January 2023 when
you argued for the last half of 2022 that you don’t need to sign the contract of
employment that accompanied the offer of employment;
7. In the case that you disagree that you had a material influence on the content of your
contract, kindly provide us with every draft of the contract, which should include track
changes and indicate who contributed to which section as well as all emailed discussion
you had relating to the position of secretary of parliament since it being advertised;
8. Your salary of just more than R5-million seems extraordinarily exorbitant and stands in
stark contrast to the salaries of DG’s and secretaries of the legislatures, perhaps with the
exception of some of the longest serving officials in these positions who, understandably,
would by now in some cases receive more than their peers. What is your view?
9. The salary deliberations, settled at R4,4-million per annum in January 2023, seems to be
in contradiction of the 2019 memorandum and directive from the then Speaker Modise
and current NCOP Chair Masondo. Evidence suggests that you negotiated ruthlessly
and in secret with the Executive Authority for a salary almost 90% more than the position
was advertised for, and what Parliament could afford. Why did you chase the job and
accepted the offer of R2,6-million when you knew Parliament could not afford you and
that you would not accept the offered salary?
10. According to legal advice received, your questionable salary increase that from the start
fell outside the governance framework may well be regarded by the Auditor General as
unauthorised and/or irregular expenditure. Would you agree?
11. Based on the above, it seems that Parliament, under your leadership, may have issued
an inaccurate, untruthful, distorted press release (to be found here: https://shorturl.at/
sBDM4 ) which included material omissions and misrepresentations. What is your view?
12. How do you, as the accounting authority of Parliament, justify the negotiation for a salary
with benefits and perks you know, or aught to have known, the institution cannot afford
and should not pay;
13. Explain to me how you justify receiving a salary increase, twice in eight months, along
with parliament’s employees?

Regards,

Pauli van Wyk

Investigative Journalist

Inkululeko SA Media NPC - Reg: 2014/199607/08 - Directors: S. Charalambous, B. Brkic, I. Abedian