Staff Reporter.
The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has appointed five new board members at chicken producer Daybreak Farms, which has been suffering from governance challenges for more than a year.
The state-owned asset manager has been trying to replace the directors for some time. Last month it threatened to drag Daybreak Farms’ directors to court to force them to hold a shareholders’ meeting, where it would consider voting them out.
In its court papers, it said it wanted the directors to answer questions about the findings of a forensic probe into allegations of weak governance, abrupt dismissals of senior staff, and wasteful legal fees.
Senior staff at Daybreak started complaining about its board in early 2021. Many were subsequently fired or forced out, including CEO Boas Seruwe. Daybreak’s directors strenuously denied any wrongdoing and even tried to get a court order to stop employees from calling it corrupt.
The new board members were approved by the PIC’s Director Affairs Committee (DAC) following a thorough internal selection process.
The new members, who are expected to resume their duties with immediate effect, are:
- Vuyelwa Viola Matsiliza (Chairperson)
- Michelle Odayan (Deputy Chairperson)
- Michelle Merle Mbaco
- Kameshni Naidoo (Chairperson of the Audit and Risk Committee)
- Sagaylan Kamelon Moodliar
In a statement, the PIC said it believes that the new board would greatly assist with restoring good corporate governance at Daybreak and to ensure that the company focuses on its core business for the benefit of its shareholders on whose behalf the PIC invests, and for the benefit of the company’s employees.