DA challenges ANC to support our PIC Amendment Bill that will root out corruption and protect pensions

5 February 2019

The latest revelations of corruption and maladministration at the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), followed by a mass resignation of Board members is a clear indication that there are severe governance challenges at the PIC. It has been reported that Finance Minister Tito Mboweni is in the process of appointing new members for the PIC Board, however, under the current governance challenges this will not be sufficient.

The latest revelations of corruption and maladministration at the PIC, implicates a number of high-ranking ANC officials, including the Deputy Minister of Finance and Chairperson of the PIC, Mondli Gungubele, and the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Zweli Mkhize. It also implicates politically connected elites such as Sibusisiwe Zulu, a board member of the PIC, who is related to Mkhize. This is an indication that there is a lack in transparency and accountability at the PIC.

Good governance can be restored by an overhaul of the PIC Act, which will improve transparency and accountability. The Democratic Alliance’s (DA) PIC Amendment Bill will be a major step towards an overhaul of the PIC act and will be deliberated on Wednesday, 6 February 2019 in Parliament. The DA urges the ANC members on the finance committee to adopt the DA’s member bill in order to ensure that the newly appointed board will be better placed to deal with the PIC challenges.

The DA bill will allow greater representation of the labour sector on the PIC Board , and the appointment of key positions such as the Chairperson of the PIC Board would be a more inclusive process.

The PIC requires officials and administrators who are beyond reproach and not politically connected. A vote against the DA’s bill will essentially be a vote in favour of having government workers’ hard-earned pensions looted and squandered.

Before appointing a new Board, the DA’s PIC Amendment Bill must be considered, as it provides a superior governance structure and will provide greater protection to the hard-earned pension funds managed by the PIC.

Issued by Alf Lees, DA Deputy Shadow Minister of Finance, 5 February 2019