The board of the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) was not informed that the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) had requested documents relating to a whistleblower matter, PIC chair David Masondo told employees at a town hall meeting this week.
Masondo said the regulator’s earlier requests were not brought to his attention or that of the board, pointing to a breakdown in communication between PIC management and the FSCA.
The disclosure comes during an escalating governance crisis at the PIC, which manages about R3-trillion in public-sector assets. The FSCA inquiry, the precautionary suspension of chief executive Patrick Dlamini and changes to the PIC’s investment leadership were among the issues discussed during the staff meeting on Thursday, 16 July.
According to a statement shared by the National Treasury on Friday about the outcome of the meeting, Masondo became aware of the FSCA’s requests only through later correspondence from the regulator. He then supplied the requested documents and committed the board to co-operating with the inquiry.
He described independent regulatory scrutiny as necessary for healthy institutions and an opportunity to strengthen the PIC’s governance systems.
Masondo also told employees that the board had obtained independent advice from senior counsel before placing Dlamini on precautionary suspension.
He stressed that the suspension was not a finding of guilt. The board decided that removing Dlamini temporarily was necessary to...
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