News24 reports that the judicial commission of inquiry into the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) heard on Tuesday that the results of a staff survey had been manipulated to present a false picture of employee satisfaction.  

The commission, headed by Justice Lex Mpati, is investigating allegations of wrongdoing at state-run asset manager, which manages R2.2trn in investments on behalf of public servants.  Witnesses before the commission have spoken about a prevalent culture of fear in the corporation.  The PIC conducted a two-part employee survey between October 2016 and May 2017.  Ramabu Motimele, a senior HR business partner at the asset manager, on Tuesday testified that participation in the first round of the survey was low and prompted a second round.  “The results of the (second round of the) survey did not surprise me at all.  We were fortunate to have obtained a score above 50%, given the circumstances relating to the PIC climate at the time,” said Motimele.   Some employees were neutral about their feelings.  In Motimele experience, neutral sentiments were to be regarded as negative, however, the HR head, Chris Pholwane suggested that they be incorporated with positive sentiments.  As a result, the score card of employee satisfaction increased from 56.7% to 74.8%.  “This was completely misleading, given the terrible outcomes of the survey,” Motimele pointed out.  He testified that such falsification was against good corporate governance and the real outcome of the poll had required intervention.

• Read the full original of Sibongile Khumalo’s report on the above story at Fin24
• Read too, Climate of fear pervades PIC, inquiry told, at BusinessLive

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