PIC extends Matshepo More’s suspension

The Public Investment Corporation announced on Friday that it would extend its suspension of former Chief Financial Officer and acting Chief Executive Matshepo More, pending finalisation of the of recommendations from the commission of inquiry into the PIC, chaired by Justice Lex Mpati.

The report from the PIC commission of inquiry, released in March, recommended action be taken against several individuals, including More, in her capacity as acting CEO. The commission probed governance lapses at Africa’s largest asset manager, which manages more than R2 trillion in assets, including public servant pensions.

More was placed on suspension and charged for signing a settlement memo approving a transaction involving AYO before the portfolio management committee could approve it.

More was found to have not disclosed to the portfolio management committee that the settlement memo for the AYO transaction had already been signed.

The PIC statement said that while Advocate Kennedy Tsatsawane’s recently received disciplinary inquiry report found that More was not guilty of both charges, the PIC considered it “ill-advised” to reinstate her to her position as CFO.

“Consequently, the board has decided to extend More’s suspension pending the implementation and finalisation of the Mpati Commission recommendations. More will remain on suspension with full pay until all the recommendations of the Mpati Commission have been finalised,” the statement said.

Newly appointed PIC board chair Reuel Khoza said: “The Board is committed to doing everything in its power to ensure that a new culture that is based on ethics and values of good governance is entrenched in the PIC.”

The commission’s March report recommended that “the PIC consider the legal options available to it regarding recouping any payments made to the advisors, and that More be asked to explain her approval of the flawed agreement”.

Friday’s statement said the PIC board appointed retired Constitutional Court Judge Yvonne Mokgoro and a panel of experts to guide the PIC’s disciplinary process and the implementation of the Mpati commission report’s findings.

Compiled by Khulekani Magubane