Please find attached English and Afrikaans soundbites by Dr Mark Burke MP.
-DA calls for urgent Parliament hearing with PIC board,
– More senior PIC officials suspended on serious allegations,
– SA Govt pensioners deserve a better calibre of stewards.
The DA is deeply concerned with reports of bitter PIC boardroom battles playing out one seedy social media post at a time. South African pensioners deserve far better from those trusted with investing their trillions.
The latest episode involving the entity plagued by corruption allegations for over a decade is a reported clash between its chairperson, Deputy Finance Minister Dr David Masondo, and the entity’s CEO over yet another failed BEE transaction.
The last two years has seen at least three senior PIC officials suspended under a cloud of allegations, two subsequently leaving. One with a golden handshake.
Meanwhile, having lost billions in the State Capture era, the PIC continues to throw away money in the unlisted space. Recent examples include the Enable Capital scam and the bailing out of Daybreak Foods.
The PIC’s culture and investment practices point to an organisation that has not turned around, but which is in perpetual crisis. The DA has written to the chairperson of Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance requesting an urgent hearing with the asset manager’s board.
South African government employees grind for decades saving for retirement. Their money deserves a better calibre of stewards.