‘Cannot believe companies like these still exist’

AFRICAN Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM), a subsidiary of Old Mutual, has been accused of racism, intolerance and prejudice towards its female employees of colour.

Four women, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of further victimisation, wrote to Old Mutual two weeks ago to voice their concerns about about what they termed “bullying” and which they say the company had not responded to until yesterday evening after the Cape Times sent Old Mutual questions.

The Cape Times is in possession of the letters.

One reads: “What is the AIIM culture? It is a culture of intolerance, prejudice, where certain individuals are made to feel superior to others. A place where people of colour (black and coloured, specifically) are too afraid to speak up in fear of being victimised and bullied to the extent where disciplinary procedures are instituted – without any merit. In this day and age, I cannot believe that companies like this still exist!

I have seen how my colleague was bullied into resigning by ‘white’ superiors. And when asked for intervention by the human resource executive, my colleague was even more degraded.”

Old Mutual responded yesterday, saying it had recently been made aware of the allegations and was conducting a full independent investigation.

“Old Mutual does not tolerate any discrimination in the workplace, and we view any such allegations in a very serious light,” Old Mutual said in response to the Cape Times’ questions.

One woman said: “As a coloured person, I have seen how my skills and expertise have been questioned time and time again, over those of my white colleagues. My inputs and recommendations have had to be ‘double-checked’ by my white counterparts or, the extreme, other experts have to be brought in.”

A third woman said: “As employees we find ourselves in a conundrum with nowhere else to turn. Many employees have tried in the past to address the issue of unfair treatment and bullying in the workplace to no avail. Instead, with time, it is getting worse. All these employees have one thing in common – they are either Africans or coloureds.”

The same woman said black employees were made to feel like “ornaments”, only to be paraded around and used for meeting BBBEE requirements.

AIIM develops and manages private equity infrastructure funds. It was originally established in 2000 as a joint venture between the Old Mutual and Macquarie groups.

In 2015, AIIM became a wholly owned subsidiary of Old Mutual Alternative Investments, one of the largest alternative investment managers in Africa.

According to its website, it manages investments in east, west and southern Africa, and has equity under management of $2 billion (R27.97bn).

It has offices across South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and Ivory Coast.

One of the women broke down while she was speaking to the Cape Times yesterday, saying she had suffered pain at the company.

She hoped Old Mutual would facilitate a “safe space” during its investigations so people could speak openly about their experiences without fear of victimisation.

“Here is a culture that thrives on institutionalised racism, it is promoted on the highest level.” She said the rot ran deep. “Is transformation actually happening? No, it’s not. The BEE-rating certificate is just a compliance issue,” she said.

Another woman said the racism had been happening for as long as she had worked for the company, but people were afraid to do or say anything as they feared losing their jobs.

“They really need to start taking transformation seriously, and empower black people working in the investment arena,” she said.