PIC staff want bosses gone before telling all on irregularities

Public Investment Staff (PIC) want to tell all, but on the condition that CEO Dan Matjila and CFO Matshepo More are suspended before they can tell all on irregularities at the PIC.

Anonymous PIC employees have asked board chairperson Mondli Gungubele to suspend the two top execs in order for them to testify without any threat to their careers.

The employees claim they have knowledge of numerous irregularities and cases of impropriety they want to expose, according to a Business Day report.

Current and former staff appealed to Gungubele to suspend the two on Thursday, as the board held its regular board meetings on Friday, where it would decide on a way forward on the investigations.

Friday’s meeting is expected to focus on whether to suspend those implicated or not while investigations are under way.

Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene announced that independent and forensic inquiries would be launched. His spokesperson, Jabulani Sikhakhane, said the decision was for the board to make, as Nene had no say on the matter.

PIC employees claimed they were subjected to impropriety, but needed to be protected to speak out.

In a letter, they said they were aware of a deal that was allegedly executed based on an instruction from an executive director. They were also aware of a sponsor allegedly approaching the PIC through an executive director.

“We also have information of when an unknown/unrelated party to a transaction sponsor is introduced by a PIC executive to a deal, when it’s already been submitted to the PIC and they are instructed to work with them. We are also aware of investor companies who have also been instructed by executives to do some favours. There is a litany of irregularities in relation to human resources processes,” the letter reads.

Nene earlier moved to block UDM’s Bantu Holomisa from removing Matjila after the UDM leader demanded that the CEO be removed for “misconduct”.

Holomisa last week accused Matjila of personally releasing funding worth R2 billion to businessmen with ties to the corporation without the board’s approval.

The UDM previously filed an urgent application in the North Gauteng High Court to block the PIC board from taking internal action against Matjila, pointing at a conflict of interest as the reason.