The Citizen reports that labour unions that received large stakes in Iqbal Survé-linked Ayo Technology Solutions through a discounted Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) consortium deal tried to influence the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) to invest in another company connected to him.
This came to light at the judicial inquiry probing impropriety at the PIC last week. Recently-reinstated company secretary Bongani Mathebula testified that various political formations and unions had e-mailed the PIC lobbying it to invest in Survé’s Sagarmatha Technologies. Mathebula reported that they received letters from the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union’s (Popcru’s) investment arm, PGC, the Federation of Unions of SA (Fedusa) and Cosatu’s investment company, Kopano ke Matla. Mathebula indicated that on the eve of the investment committee meeting that was considering the transaction, former PIC CEO Dan Matjila asked her to forward these e-mails to the committee to show support for the investment in Sagarmatha. Mathebula told the commission she believed outside interference of this nature would shock those whose money the PIC was supposed to invest responsibly. The PIC manages over R2 trillion in assets, most of which is from government pensions.
- Read more of this 26 April 2019 report in The Citizen by Tebogo Tshwane at SA Labour News
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