By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
David Masondo, who is the deputy finance minister, tendered his resignation as chairperson of Public Investment Corporation (PIC) board on Thursday.
His resignation follows weeks of turmoil at the PIC, including the precautionary suspension of chief executive Patrick Dlamini and the resignation of six non-executive directors.
“After careful reflection, I have decided to resign as chairperson of the board of the Public Investment Corporation,” Masondo said in a statement.
Masondo said he had decided to resign “in the interests of the Republic of South Africa, the continued stability of the PIC, and the confidence of the millions of South Africans whose savings are entrusted to this institution.”
He becomes the latest senior official of the governance crisis engulfing South Africa’s largest asset manager, while warning that key investigations into the corporation must not be “swept under the carpet”.
The state-owned asset manager, which oversees more than R3.6 trillion in South African public sector assets, suspended Dlamini amid a probe into allegations of impropriety raised in a whistleblower report.
Dlamini’s suspension deepens a sense of crisis at the fund, which has had a revolving door of senior executives over the past decade. The PIC named Chief Financial Officer Batandwa Damoyi as acting CEO.
Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana and Masondo — the top two officials in the finance ministry — have been at odds over the decision to suspend Dlamini, the handling of a report that he ordered into a controversial investment in a Johannesburg airport, and a whistleblower tip-off that followed, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified.
The PIC’s governance problem deepened after Masondo announced that matters arising from the Acapulco investment transaction would be referred to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), following a legal review of the recent PwC forensic investigation. The PIC said this decision reflected new information uncovered through the PwC investigation and subsequent legal assessment.
The PIC said the SIU referral would proceed separately from its investigation into matters arising from the whistleblower report. The whistleblower process would continue independently so that the PIC could address the entirety of the multiple matters contained in the report.
The latest battle follows the suspension of former chief investment officer Kabelo Rikhotso last year, along with unlisted portfolio head Thabiso Moshikara.
Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) has become “increasingly concerned” by developments at the PIC and plans to conduct an investigation, it said in a statement.