JOHANNESBURG, July 21 – South Africa’s opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) has proposed new legislation to reform the governance of the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), arguing that the country’s largest state asset manager should be insulated from political influence following its latest leadership crisis.
The proposal comes after PIC Chief Executive Patrick Dlamini was suspended pending an investigation into allegations raised by a whistleblower. South Africa’s financial regulator has also launched a separate governance investigation into the institution.
The PIC board has not disclosed details of the allegations and has emphasised that Dlamini’s suspension does not constitute a finding of wrongdoing. Dlamini could not immediately be reached for comment.
The Public Investment Corporation manages more than 3 trillion rand (approximately $182 billion) in assets on behalf of South African government employees, making it one of Africa’s largest asset managers.
In a statement, Mark Burke, the Democratic Alliance’s representative, said the party had submitted its proposed Pension Protection Bill to Parliament’s Constitutional and Legal Services Office for review and intends to formally table the legislation once legal feedback has been received.
According to Burke, “Pension investments are supposed to be boring. They’re not supposed to be political. The Pension Protection Bill seeks to rectify an unacceptable situation that has cost public servants billions.”
The Democratic Alliance, which holds 87 of the National Assembly’s 400 seats, argues that the current governance framework undermines the independence of the PIC and has contributed to recurring governance failures.
Under the proposed legislation, Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance would establish an independent selection panel to identify and shortlist candidates for non executive director positions based on merit and the skills required by the board.
The panel would then recommend candidates to the Finance Minister, who would retain the authority to reject nominees but would be prohibited from appointing individuals not recommended through the independent process.
The proposal also seeks to transfer responsibility for appointing executive directors from the Finance Minister to the PIC board, while allowing the board to elect its own chairperson from among its non executive directors.
In addition, the bill would prevent individuals currently holding political office, or those who have held such positions within the previous three years, from serving on the board.
If enacted, the reforms would significantly alter the corporation’s current governance structure, under which Deputy Finance Minister David Masondo serves as Chairperson of the PIC.
The proposed reforms reflect growing debate in South Africa over the governance of state owned financial institutions and the need to strengthen oversight, accountability and institutional independence in the management of public pension assets.
