Handshakes, handcuffs and what Dan Matjila should be paid
Paying executives huge sums on resignation has been examined by the Constitutional Court, and it’s not as clear cut as you may think
In September 2018, the Mail & Guardian reported that the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) CEO Dan Matjila, whose contract was due to run until the end of December 2019, had offered to resign before then in return for a “golden handshake”. More recently, Business Day reported that Matjila had “communicated to the board of the PIC that he intended to resign at the end of April 2019” but the PIC board decided to accept his resignation with immediate effect. It has also said that he would not receive a golden handshake, but that the PIC would be as generous as possible towards him “within legal bounds … in recognition of his contribution to the PIC”. This suggests the board of the PIC does not think that what he earned by way of ordinary remuneration — more than R15m in the year ended March 2018 — was sufficient for the latter purpose. What are golden handshakes and why have their payments become regarded with deep suspicion? The term golden handshake used to refer to an amount contr...
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