Woman who skipped Grade 9 and has received over R100,000 a day from Vodacom for six years

Business Malcolm Libera 8 Sep 2026 Business Woman who skipped Grade 9 and has received over R100,000 a day from Vodacom for six years Malcolm Libera  ·8 Sep 2026 Vodacom Group’s chief financial officer, Raisibe Morathi, has received more than R202 million in remuneration over six years at the telecommunications group. Over the period, this works out to an average of R102,160 per day since taking up the position at Vodacom. Morathi grew up in Polokwane, Limpopo, where she showed academic aptitude from an early age. She completed high school in four years instead of the traditional five, skipping Grade 9 and progressing directly to Grade 10. Her love for academics led her into accounting and finance. Morathi obtained a BCom degree from the University of Venda and qualified as a chartered accountant. She continued adding to her qualifications throughout her career, earning a Master of Philosophy in Corporate Strategy from the University of Pretoria’s Gordon Institute of Business Science. Her other qualifications include an advanced diploma in taxation from Wits, a certificate in corporate governance from the University of Johannesburg and INSEAD’s advanced management programme. Morathi started her professional career as a trainee accountant at Fisher Hoffman, an accounting firm that was later rebranded as PKF South Africa. In 1994, she joined Nedbank as a structured finance consultant. After two years in the position, she moved through several senior roles at major financial institutions. Between 1996 and 2009, Morathi held executive positions at HSBC Investment Bank, the Industrial Development Corporation, African Merchant Bank and Sanlam. At Sanlam, she served as CEO of Group Services. She returned to Nedbank in 2009 as the banking group’s chief financial officer, managing a team of more than 900 people involved in finance and operations. Morathi remained at Nedbank for more than 11 years and also served for much of that period as patron of the bank’s Women’s Forum, an internal structure aimed at developing female leadership. Vodacom appointed Morathi as its chief financial officer and a member of its board on 1 November 2020. She succeeded Till Streichert following a brief period during which Sitholizwe Mdlalose served as acting CFO. One of South Africa’s highest-paid corporate executives Since then, Vodacom’s annual integrated reports show that Morathi has received R202.278 million in pre-tax remuneration over her six years in the role. Her remuneration rose from R14.0 million in the 2021 financial year, when she worked only five months, to R28.5 million in 2022 and R28.4 million in 2023. Her total package increased to R30.1 million in 2024 and R32.5 million in 2025. The biggest jump came in the 2026 financial year, when her total pre-tax remuneration rose significantly due to the vesting of long-term performance shares. Her guaranteed package for the year was R11.9 million, while she received a short-term incentive of R12.4 million and R41.4 million from vested long-term incentive awards. Vodacom said the long-term incentive payment reflected the final vesting percentage for awards made in June 2023. “Achievement of the FY2026 LTI represents the final vesting percentage for awards made in June 2023, where the three-year performance period concluded on 31 March 2026,” the group said. The strong vesting outcome was also linked to performance. Vodacom reported that the overall achievement against its long-term incentive targets was 145.8%, compared with 73.1% in the previous financial year. Morathi’s remuneration structure consists of a guaranteed package, benefits, short-term incentives and long-term incentives. Vodacom has repeatedly adjusted her remuneration to remain competitive in the market. In her first full year, she received a 7.5% salary increase. The company explained that the increase was intended to support its strategy of attracting and retaining female executives. “In line with our strategy to attract and retain female talent, the CFO was awarded a slightly higher salary increase to ensure her pay remains competitive in comparison to her peers and market,” Vodacom said. Her subsequent salary increases were also linked to competition for skilled executives. “We conduct annual benchmarks given the heightened competition for technology-related skills and talent,” the company said. Over six years, Morathi’s career progression and remuneration have made her one of South Africa’s highest-paid corporate executives, with her average earnings from Vodacom alone exceeding R102,000 for every day she has held the CFO position. The table below outlines her annual remuneration since joining Vodacom in November 2020. It uses restated figures (e.g., the restated FY2021 STI and the restated FY2025 security benefits) to reflect the most accurate, up-to-date data reported by the company. FY2021 (5 Months)FY2022FY2023FY2024FY2025 (Restated)FY2026Total Component (ZAR)Base salaryR3,750,000R9,506,250R10,095,863R10,696,778R11,338,585R11,932,640R57,320,116Other BenefitsR6,001,600R1,606,720R6,235R2,107,547R1,045,348R855,963R11,623,413Short-Term Incentive (STI)R3,895,503R9,128,363R6,471,806R9,513,018R8,912,388R12,426,623R50,347,701Long-Term Incentive (LTI)R0R7,030,716R10,354,251R7,128,023R9,414,676R40,707,983R74,635,649Siyanda Units VestedR0R0R0R0R247,966R659,638R907,604Dividends ReceivedR360,022R1,194,671R1,432,885R664,614R1,510,631R2,280,619R7,443,442Total (Pre-tax)R14,007,125R28,466,720R28,361,040R30,109,980R32,469,595R68,863,467R202,277,927 More images of Raisibe Morathi Subscribe Show comments Autoload comments