LETTER: Government has no business in executive pay debate
In a country with an unemployment rate of more than 42%, surely the government should remove as many barriers to activity as possible?
Whether executives’ salaries are “excessive” is not a matter for government to decide (“Patel bill seeks pay gap transparency (https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/2021-05-19-patel-bill-seeks-pay-gap-transparency/#:~:text=A%20requirement%20that%20companies%20disclose,minister%20Ebrahim%20Patel%20on%20Tuesday.&text=SA's%20minimum%20wage%20is%20just%20more%20than%20R20%20an%20hour.),” May 19). It is a matter for shareholders to decide what they expect from executives and, based on relevant performance, what their compensation should be.
Matters of this sort must be left for businesses to decide; any legislative push by the government to become intimately involved simply opens the door to more onerous interference and will contribute to SA’s anti-business, anti-job creation climate. ..
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