Deputy finance minister Masondo faces removal as PIC board chair amid governance crisis

South Africa's R3.6 trillion Public Investment Corporation is in open crisis. Deputy Finance Minister David Masondo, who chairs the PIC board, faces a shareholder vote on his removal at a July 27 meeting called by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, with six non-executive directors, including four in one day, having already resigned. The rupture stems from Masondo's suspension of CEO Patrick Dlamini over a whistleblower report tied to a PwC probe into a BEE deal linked to Lanseria airport. Masondo says he'll formally defend his position. The fight exposes a deepening rift at the top of the finance ministry itself, and unprecedented instability at Africa's largest asset manager..By Loni Prinsloo.South Africa’s deputy finance minister said he’ll submit a formal response defending his position as chairman of the Public Investment Corp. when its board meets next week to discuss recent turmoil at the state pension-fund manager.Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has called a meeting for July 27 at which the PIC’s non-executive directors and his deputy, David Masondo, face a shareholder vote for removal, News24 reported on Tuesday. The PIC is 100% state-owned and Godongwana acts as the government’s shareholder representative.“I will make my full representations, as requested by the minister at the shareholder’s general meeting,” Masondo said in an emailed response to questions from Bloomberg.The PIC is Africa’s biggest money manager, with about 3.6 trillion rand ($219 billion) under management. It’s been rocked by upheaval over the past week after Masondo suspended Chief Executive Officer Patrick Dlamini amid a probe into allegations of impropriety raised in a whistleblower report. The nation’s financial regulator has announced an investigation into governance at the fund..At least six non-executive directors of the PIC’s 11-member board have resigned in the past week, including four who quit on Tuesday, Johannesburg-based news website Currency reported. Godongwana and Masondo — the top two officials in the finance ministry — have been at odds over the decision to suspend Dlamini, the handling of a report that he ordered into a controversial investment in a Johannesburg airport, and a whistleblower tip-off that followed.Dlamini was suspended eight months after ordering an investigation by PwC into a Black economic-empowerment deal linked to an investment in Lanseria, an airport on the northern outskirts of Johannesburg. The report exposed alleged wrongdoing by members of the PIC’s staff, the people said.The removal of Masondo from the post of chairman would be unprecedented in the history of the PIC, News 24 said. South African law requires the board be chaired by a deputy minister within the so-called economic cluster of ministries, which include finance, trade and mineral resources..© 2026 Bloomberg L.P.

Deputy finance minister Masondo faces removal as PIC board chair amid governance crisis

Related Stories

BN Daybreak: Amazon beats Starlink; PIC's Lanseria crisis; Netflix's slowdown; AI's big margins

Director's Cut — Dr Mark Burke: What is behind the governance crisis at the R3.5 trillion PIC

Godongwana to review PIC CEO Dlamini's suspension after board briefing

Who's watching the watchmen of SAs $218bn pension pot, the PIC