The Inkatha Freedom Party on Monday called for a cap on the pay cheques of parastatal bosses after it emerged that ousted Eskom CEO Jacob Maroga is demanding R85-million in damages.

IFP chief whip Koos van der Merwe said Maroga's "shocking" claim from the cash-strapped energy supplier "has once again highlighted how South Africa's parastatals are allowed to plunder the public purse with impunity".

''Why has government allowed a situation to develop where Mr Maroga and other executives of state-owned entities receive incomes twice and thrice the size of the president's income?" he asked.

"The list of overpaid executives is endless. It is not limited to Eskom ... the current state of affairs requires an urgent review of the contracts and salaries of all CEOs of state-owned enterprises and a cap must urgently be placed on their packages to prevent further pillaging of the public's purse."

R45-million for incentives

Eskom is opposing a law suit filed by Maroga following his reluctant departure in November after a standoff with chairperson Bobby Godsell, who also left.

He is suing his former employer, its acting CEO and chairperson Mpho Makwana, and the Minister of Public Enterprises Barbara Hogan for "reasonable" damages or reinstatement.

The Sunday Times reported that this included R14.5-million for loss of salary, R45-million for incentives and R7-million for other benefits.

It said court papers showed that at just over R5-million, Maroga's annual salary was twice that of President Jacob Zuma and three times that of Hogan.