Gigaba must keep his hands off the PIC
Reports that the National Treasury is trying to force the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) to commit to providing an alarming R100 billion to bail out the numerous struggling State-owned Enterprises, including R12 billion for South African Airways (SAA), are disturbing, to say the least (see Bloomberg report).
The PIC oversees the biggest fund in Africa, managing some R1,9 trillion in assets mainly belonging to the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF).
While the DA has repeatedly warned of this possibility in particular for the SAA bailout, these reports confirm the possibility that the Minister and Deputy Minister of Finance, Malusi Gigaba and Sfiso Buthelezi, who is also the Chairperson of the PIC, are planning a raid on the pensions of millions of hard-working government employees and pensioners.
It is therefore deeply concerning that there is also allegedly a plot to remove the PIC’s current CEO, Dan Matjila, which was reportedly a greedy attempt by the Gupta’s to hi-jack the PIC and loot from the people of our country.
Gigaba is yet again seemingly at the centre of a push to put the pensions of millions of government employees at risk, and in the process playing the role of the mismanagement and corruption enabler.