Johannesburg - Gauteng Economic Development MEC Firoz Cachalia has slashed the amount paid to Blue IQ board members to attend meetings by more than half, effective from Monday this week.
Briefing the media on Monday, Cachalia said the move followed an outcry that the fees paid to the agency's board members were too high and not in line with those paid out to people who sits in boards of other entities of the provincial government.
Board members will now receive R7 500 for a meeting instead of the R20 000 they were previously paid. The fee for the chairperson drops from R25 000 to R10 000 per meeting.
Blue IQ is an investment arm of the Gauteng Provincial Government aimed at providing strategic economic infrastructure for South Africa's economic hub.
"The board members and I have reached agreement that the fee structure has to be significantly dropped because I have always believed that it was too high and since members are now required to attend many more meetings given their current responsibilities," Cachalia said.
He said a "more rigorous" benchmarking exercise would be carried out by his department prior to the commencement of the next financial year ahead of the establishment of a new growth and development agency for the province. "We will ensure that a fair board remuneration framework is in place when the re-configured agency commences operations on the 1st April," he said.
Cachalia also dismissed media reports that the provincial Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) has allegedly launched an investigation into the finances of the entity.
"After being aware of this report, I phoned the chairperson of the committee (SCOPA) and I can tell you there is no investigation taking place," he said. SCOPA had merely formed a committee to look at various matters concerning Blue IQ.
