PIC’s Former CEO Says He’s Become Easy Target for Accusations
PIC’s Former CEO Says He’s Become Easy Target for Accusations
(Bloomberg) -- Daniel Matjila, the former chief executive officer of South Africa’s state-owned pension manager, told a judicial inquiry that some earlier witnesses have turned against him since he left the company because of fear of losing their jobs.
“From what I’ve heard, people were scared and they had to comply or else they would be suspended,” Matjila told the three commissioners probing allegations of wrongdoing at the Public Investment Corp. “This points to a very difficult environment at the PIC.”
During his 10th day of testimony before the ongoing probe, Matjila detailed the steps taken prior to a controversial deal in which the PIC took all of Ayo Technology Solutions Ltd.’s private placement in December 2017. Matjila left the PIC in November and has said his ouster was political. The inquiry continues on Thursday.
The PIC suspended two employees in January following an internal investigation into its decision to spend 4.3 billion rand on the Ayo transaction. That valued Ayo at 14.8 billion rand even though its assets were estimated at 292 million rand.
“I’m not surprised at a certain turnaround in some of the witnesses,” Matjila said. The ex-CEO believes some accusations come from “a place of fear and people trying to protect their positions at all expenses,” he said, adding that he has become “the easiest to point fingers at.”
Last month Chief Financial Officer Matshepo More told the commission she stopped the allocation of funding for Ayo after realizing correct processes weren’t followed. She said Matjila signed the subscription certificate before the necessary portfolio management committee meeting.
When questioned about this, Matjila argued that the PIC had relied on both Ayo’s pre-listing statement and the PIC’s own due diligence, meaning he felt well enough informed to co-sign the subscription certificate. This was in order to meet a tight listing deadline, he said.
From a listing price of 43 rand a share, Ayo’s share price has slumped to 9 rand on Wednesday.
To contact the reporter on this story: Janice Kew in Johannesburg at jkew4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Eric Pfanner at epfanner1@bloomberg.net, John Bowker, Jacqueline Mackenzie
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