Suspended officer says legal team reported for conduct

THE Commission of Inquiry into alleged improprieties at the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has heard how evidence leader Advocate Jannie Lubbe’s legal team was reported to the board of the asset management firm for acting improperly with regard to the taking of statements from potential witnesses.

This emerged when suspended acting chief executive and chief investment officer, Matshepo More, appeared before the commission led by retired Judge Lex Mpati, assisted by Gill Marcus and Emanuel Lediga.

More submitted that Lubbe alleged that his team had experienced a reluctance by witnesses to assist the commission because of a report she and Lindiwe Dlamini, the acting executive head of legal, had submitted to the PIC Board.

“On 8 March 2019… Dlamini and I reported to the board of directors of the PIC that there were some staff members who indicated that the investigators of the commission requested them to provide statements in MS Word and that they were not comfortable with this request,” said More.

She told the commission some members indicated they were incurring legal costs as a result of having to seek assistance in preparing their statements.

She said they proposed to the board on March 8 that the PIC should appoint an external independent legal firm to assist employees on a voluntary basis to prepare their statements. She said the Board approved this proposal.

She said Alvin Edgar Schiel, a development manager in the property division of the PIC, made a statement during his testimony in March to the effect that “there are rumours that individuals who have been called to give evidence before the evidence leader, Advocate Lubbe, are summoned to account for this on the seventh floor”.

“It is to be noted from this extract that Advocate Lubbe, among others, informs the commission that “the board were informed that the evidence leaders ask potential witnesses to bring their statements in the word format so evidence leaders can chop and change.”

In a heated exchange between More and the evidence leader, the suspended acting chief executive disclosed how Lubbe, in February, asked to see her privately and offered her “fatherly advice” on how to deal with her suspension when engaging with Finance Minister Tito Mboweni.

“He said to me he is providing fatherly advice and is recommending that if I have a good relationship with the minister of finance, I should ask that I be placed on special leave. I asked advocate Lubbe what would be the basis for me asking if I should be placed on special leave? He then highlighted to me that there are various allegations that have come before him regarding my involvement. I requested I be given those allegations and take that into consideration…”.

More has denied she has done anything to interfere with the board and the inquiry.