Statement by Andrew Bateman MP – DA Deputy Spokesperson on Appropriations:
The DA has lodged a complaint with the Information Regulator against the Public Investment Corporation, because it continues to keep two public documents secret and hidden from the public.
No state entity should be allowed to hide public documents from the public.
Both the Mokgoro Report and the PIC’s final implementation report on the recommendations of the Mpati Commission must be public documents, yet the PIC continues to hide them in secret.
In 2020, the Mpati Commission of Inquiry into the PIC reported serious governance failures, conflicts of interest, weaknesses in investment oversight and alleged misconduct by PIC officials and counterparties. The PIC established an Advisory Panel chaired by retired Justice Yvonne Mokgoro to assess and report on the implementation of the Commission’s recommendations.
There is significant public interest in these reports because the PIC manages about R3 trillion on behalf of the Government Employees Pension Fund which has over 1,2 million active members and serves about 565,000 pensioners and other beneficiaries.
There are important Mpati reforms which have not been implemented and to date there has been scant accountability for those responsible for the alleged abuses. Without transparency, reform and accountability, the wrong doing could continue indefinitely.
Last year, the DA submitted an application under the Public Access to Information Act for these reports to be made public. To date they remain hidden, concealed and secret despite the legal requirement that they be provided in terms of PAIA.
When documents remain concealed and are not delivered up under a lawful PAIA process the Information Regulator must step in.
The DA is committed to ensuring that the recommended reforms are carried out at the PIC, because we care about the pensioners of the state whose retirement savings are being put at risk by the bad decisions and bad investments made by the PIC.
Government employee pension savings and other public funds must be managed responsibly.
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Iceland: You have two cows. They freeze to death.
Blink
Fun South African Fact: Some countries have deserts; some have subtropical forests, right? South Africa has: deserts, wetlands, grasslands, bush, subtropical forests, mountains and escarpments.