“I Better Lock In:” Mzansi Is Chasing Career Goals After TikToker Reveals SOE Executive Salaries

• South Africans flooded a TikTok comments section with career goals after executive salaries at state-owned enterprises were revealed by Life Reset With Boni
• The CEO of the Development Bank of South Africa takes home R15.5 million a year, which equals over R42,000 every single day
• More than R400 million is spent on executive salaries at 117 state-owned entities each year, and that figure is likely only part of the real total

TikToker, Life Reset With Boni, sent South Africans into a career planning frenzy with one video.

Boni posted a clip on 29 March 2026 revealing what state-owned enterprise executives earn. The comment section filled up fast with people saying they were ready to work toward the same heights.

The figures are staggering, and they came straight from parliamentary records. SOE executives across South Africa can earn as much as R15.5 million every single year. That breaks down to R1.29 million a month and R42,465 landing in the bank every day. These salaries cover executives across 117 entities in 13 government departments nationwide.

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The salary list that got Mzansi talking

The Development Bank of South Africa sits at the top of the earnings list. Its CEO takes home R15.5 million a year, making them one of the highest-paid public officials. The Public Investment Corporation chief executive earns over R9.5 million annually. Transnet’s CEO is on R8.5 million, while the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa pays its boss R7.8 million.

The Road Accident Fund chief earns R7.1 million, and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research pays its CEO R6.92 million. That figure includes R2.3 million in bonuses spread across two years. South African Airways, the Central Energy Fund, Air Traffic Navigation Services, PetroSA and Rand Water also feature. Their executives each earn between R5.4 million and R6.15 million annually.

On the comment section on Boni’s video, South Africans were not complaining and questioning. Instead, they were setting targets about what they needed to do to get there.

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Watch the TikTok clip below:

Mzansi reacts to the clip

@Ntshembo Vuma commented:

“Being an executive at SOE is not rewarding enough. I mean CEO of PIC gets close to R10 million, and they manage assets worth R3 trillion. While the CEO of ABSA gets R150 million for managing assets worth R200 billion.”

@Dow Jones® said:

“The CTO and Chief Risk Officer of PIC.😭 I better lock in with Tech. ♥️”

@waveyvibes31 wrote:

“The smart move is to advise our youth not to waste their maths and science on Engineering, but rather pursue a career in finance. 🔥”

@lebo__m noted:

“It makes sense for PIC, they are responsible for managing the pensions of civil servants, a huge responsibility.”

@VuyiJika commented:

“I am currently doing Project Management on top of my Btech Degree. I want to do Operations Management and then an MBA to one day become a Chief Operations Officer. 🤗 My goal is to earn such nice salaries. 😋🤗”

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More articles involving salaries

• A viral post shares the earnings of a senior lecturer with advanced academic qualifications, offering a rare glimpse into university salaries.
• A TikTok video broke down the new salaries of South African politicians after President Ramaphosa approved a 3.8% raise.
• Worker representatives confronted company bosses during a heated meeting about employees earning only R1,900 per month.

Source: Briefly News