Top South African company makes directors pay up for R1 million Olympics trip

Bidvest said its chairman and two non-executive directors will need to pay back the cost of a trip to the Paris Olympics after the reimbursement of their expenses was rejected by shareholders. 

At an annual general meeting held on 1 December, 59.7% of shareholders rejected the resolution to rubber stamp the payments, a stock exchange statement from the Johannesburg-based company showed on Tuesday.

The payments, totaling about R1 million, were made to Chairman Bonang Mohale, Lead Director Renosi Mokate and non-executive director Sindi Mabaso-Koyana.

Institutional Shareholder Services, the world’s biggest proxy advisory firm, had recommended stockholders vote against the payments, saying they were excessive and may compromise the independence of the directors.

“Bidvest will recover the expenses paid from the relevant non-executive directors,” it said.

Bidvest — which makes annual revenue of about R127 billion from activities such as running ports and offering cleaning services — had justified its request for the approval by arguing that it is a sponsor of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee.