Vuma Mashinini, who is poised to head the Independent Electoral Commission, has earned well in excess of R1-million a year for the past five years in which he has been employed in the Presidency. According to a parliamentary reply to a question posed by DA MP Michael Cardo, Mashinini has served in the Presidency since May 2010 - first as vice-chairman of the president's review commission on state-owned enterprises and later as a special adviser to the president .The Presidency said that in his vice-chairman post, held until April 2012, Mashinini earned R1121 an hour, capped at a maximum of 160 hours a month. At 160 hours a month, he would have earned nearly R2.2-million a year.In November 2012, Mashinini was appointed a presidential adviser, earning about R1.4-million a year. His current contract sees him earning R1.5-million a year.Opposition parties fear that Mashinini, as a close Zuma ally, would compromise the independence of the IEC.Cardo said yesterday he would submit further questions to find out exactly how much Mashinini earned at the hourly rate, as the reply had not specified the number of hours billed, and what his function as "presidential adviser for special projects" entailed."It's clear Mashinini is on a very lucrative wicket [in] the Presidency. He has been enjoying the benefits of presidential patronage for years now and this casts real doubt on his ability to be independent and non-partisan at the IEC."In initial interviews for the post, Mashinini said his role as an adviser was "professional and non-political"...