Today's Labour News

BusinessLive reports that National Treasury is strengthening its oversight role over the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), Africa’s largest asset manager with more than R3-trillion in assets under management.

The PIC manages the funds of the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), the Unemployment Insurance Fund and the Compensation Fund among other funds. In a written reply to a parliamentary question, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said the Treasury’s oversight role over the PIC would be strengthened through the shareholder compact signed annually between the minister and the PIC board. “These will include the power to conduct independent audits, ensuring that comprehensive investment policies and guidelines are established, among others. In the interim, to uphold the PIC’s accountability, the National Treasury will continue to enforce existing regulatory frameworks, which include the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), Treasury regulations and National Treasury instruction notes designed to regulate financial management,” the minister said. Earlier this month, Godongwana reported that he had ordered an inquiry into the PIC’s unlisted investments, which amount to about R170bn. He also indicated that the Treasury had begun a process to amend the PIC Act to give effect to the recommendations of the Mpati commission of inquiry. One of these recommendations was the appointment of an independent non-executive chairperson, who was not the deputy minister of finance (as presently the case) but someone with experience and expertise in pension funds, finance markets and governance.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Linda Ensor at BusinessLive

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