Cash-strapped power utility Eskom, which is embroiled in a bruising wage dispute with the unions, has been paying its executives more than half a million rand a month to run their cars. Business Day has established that officials from the level of GM upwards are provided with "fleet cards", giving them unlimited free fuel. Eskom also picks up the tab for their toll fees and maintenance costs. The power utility confirmed on Thursday that 115 GMs and executives benefited from the scheme, which had cost R596,625.54 in May. The practice was not uncommon for private sector executives, said Mark Holgate, CEO of placement agency The Recruiters. But he questioned if this was an appropriate remuneration model for a state entity such as Eskom. "You can’t be running an organisation at the kind of losses we are talking about and be paying these kinds of salaries and allowances." This comes at a time when the utility is struggling for its survival, with Eskom saying the decision by the National ...
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