PIC’S Matjila safe … for now
CEO Daniel Matjila lives to fight another day as board displays united front with finance minister Malusi Gigaba. Few bought it
The board of the Public Investment Corp (PIC) presented a united front on Tuesday at a choreographed press conference in which finance minister Malusi Gigaba strenuously denied there were any nefarious attempts to remove CEO Daniel Matjila.
“There is absolutely no truth to the allegations that there is a looting campaign out there that seeks to dip dirty hands into the R1.9 trillion of the PIC . . . from time to time people will try to subject some of us to undue pressure to take decisions which favour them‚” said Gigaba.
He also denied that government was eyeing R100bn from the PIC to recapitalise SA Airways and other parlous state-owned companies under government’s management — a bailout which Matjila was reluctant to agree to. As the PIC owns 13% of the JSE, it remains a prized target for would-be state capturers.
But few were convinced by Gigaba’s display.
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) spokesman Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said he didn’t buy this “false” show of unity.
“[It] is the oldest trick in the book of the people who are leading the country at this moment. It’s a PR exercise that all of us must not trust. We must continue to be vigilant over the PIC,” he told radio 702.
Dennis George, the general secretary of trade union Fedusa, said his union would “take action” should Gigaba “continue with plans to fund state-owned entities” with PIC money.
It’s no surprise the show of unity failed to work. The tension was palpable at the press conference.
It was the PIC’S nonexecutive director Sibusisiwe Zulu, who is seen as aligned to Gigaba, who gave the clearest indication of the simmering tensions during a rousing speech in which she admonished the PIC’S executive management and staff to “stay out of politics”.
If they did that, she said, “we will protect you”.
The PIC’S other nonexecutive directors sat stone-faced, declining to take up Gigaba’s invitation to speak. Sfiso Buthelezi, Gigaba’s deputy and chair of the PIC, also sung off the same hymn sheet as Zulu, as they denied Gigaba had “dirty hands”.
Even if it was a façade of unity, it will nonetheless have bought Matjila some time at the stateowned money manager.
Rumours this week were that he could be suspended after facing an avalanche of largely bogus allegations from within the organisation in recent weeks designed to smear him.
But even if he does stay for a while, Matjila may still emerge with his personal integrity seriously damaged.
Matjila has survived a month of hell during which, insiders say, politically well-connected people pushed allegations of his irregular financial conduct, so as to remove him.
Last weekend, in an interview with the Business Times newspaper, Matjila said these allegations are being cooked up to get rid of him so that these people can have “easy access to the big safe” of the PIC.
Matjila reportedly came under