Michael Joseph is the founding Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Safaricom Plc. He also served as the telecommunication behemoth’s CEO for nine months following the death of Bob Collymore from July 2, 2019 to March 31, 2020.
Over the course of his tenure, Joseph has raked in some of the highest earnings in terms of salary and bonuses in the country.
On July 7, 2021, Business Daily reported that Safaricom Plc paid Joseph an additional bonus of Ksh127.5 million in the year ended March.
The pay out made him the best paid non-executive board member of a firm listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE).
The payment to Joseph was categorised as executive compensation, however, it is not clear whether the money was linked to his stint as interim CEO following the demise of Collymore.
Also Read: Michael Joseph Biography, Background, Marriages, Career And Current Positions He Holds
Safaricom further failed to clarify if the firm owed the former CEO money that had been deferred. According to the firms terms, non-executive directors including chairpersons are not entitled to bonuses.
“The executive director’s (the CEO) remuneration is as per the negotiated employment contract and is employed on a fixed-term basis,” Safaricom said in a statement.
“Besides the basic salary, the executive director is entitled to an annual performance-based bonus and Vodafone Plc shares, residential accommodation, utility bills payment, children’s school fees and club membership,” the statement further reads.
Joseph was also paid a further Kh6.3 million in fees for his role as chairman and non-executive director, taking his total compensation to Ksh133.8 million.
For the financial year ended March 2020, Joseph was also paid a bonus along with his fees as chairman and no-executive director totaling Kh126.3 million.
The Ksh126.3 million sum was inclusive of Ksh88.4 million in salary, a bonus of Ksh23.4 million and a director’s fee of Ksh360,000.
According to the firm, salaries of directors are fixed and remained unchanged for the financial year ending March 2021.
As a chairman, one is paid Ksh5.7 million per year and sitting allowance of Ksh85,000 per meeting.
Other non-executive directors are each paid Ksh2.2 million per year and along with Ksh60,000 sitting allowances each per meeting. The chair of a board committee is paid Ksh74,150 per meeting
According to a publication by the Standard in August 2018, Joseph, then only a board member, was paid Ksh2.93 million for the year ended March 2018.
