The DA notes the recent comments from Deputy Minister Masondo that the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) is seeking an equity partner for Daybreak Foods.
The DA agrees that the PIC should be seeking to divest itself of the majority stake of Daybreak Foods. However, we note that the PIC has been trying to do this for over a year with no success. This is not surprising, given that the PIC’s investment in Daybreak has been dogged from the outset by a litany of scandals.
The PIC’s talk of “finding an equity partner” may be a convenient euphemism to signal that it is about to pump millions more into a failing business. The DA warns that the PIC should be cautious of continuing to throw good money after bad. Its investment now exceeds R1,7billion and it is unlikely that much of this will ever be recovered.
Daybreak is but one of many of the PIC’s ill-judged unlisted investments with friends of the ANC.
The DA calls for urgent reform of how the PIC board and chairperson are selected to free the PIC from political control. The Deputy Minister of Finance cannot also be the Chair of the PIC. The PIC must be fully professionalized to safeguard the retirement savings of government employees and the other public funds it manages, as recommended by the Mpati Commission but never implemented.
The DA further calls for accountability for the rogue directors and officials of the PIC and its subsidiaries identified by the Mpati Report and since. It is inexcusable that the pension savings of government employees and other public funds have been grossly abused without consequences. Abuse flourishes without accountability.