Gigaba, Buthelezi, PIC’s Matjila: Nothing to see here, move along...

Right at the start of Tuesday’s press conference at the Treasury building in Pretoria, Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba asked PIC CEO Dan Matjila jokingly why he was trying to throw him under the bus. The jibe was related to an interview in the Sunday Times in which Matjila insinuated that powerful political allies of Gigaba were after the R1.9-trillion of government employees pension money managed by PIC.

“I’ve got the keys. They were looking for the keys to the big safe,” Matjila was reported as saying.

There are efforts from within the PIC board to have Matjila sacked because of allegations in media owned by the Gupta brothers that he channelled a R21-million deal to an alleged girlfriend. He would then be replaced by former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe, the rumour goes.

The allegations surfaced after he turned down a request from SAA chairwoman Dudu Myeni for a R6-billion loan – according to Matjila.

The press conference started an hour and 20 minutes late (from the announced 14:00 start), which might suggest that the minister and the board members in the meeting beforehand had had some not-so-small differences.

Gigaba was flanked by his deputy, Sfiso Buthelezi, his director-general Dondo Mogajane, Matjila and board members.

Matjila at the press conference on Tuesday said a weekend Sunday Times article was “distasteful, inaccurate, and I think it is designed to drive a wedge between myself and the minister. It is designed to drive a wedge between myself and the board.”

Bizarrely, however, he refused to say which parts of the story he had a problem with, only saying that he would release a statement on Wednesday. He said he was weighing his legal options. He gave assurances that “the PIC is on solid ground, we are not disturbed by this”.

The story in the Sunday Times had already contradicted somewhat one in the Business Report where Matjila said he was confident he would remain in the PIC because he had done nothing wrong.

Perhaps the tide was turning when he gave that interview to the Sunday Times, or perhaps the story is indeed inaccurate.

Or perhaps Matjila is trying to play politics here.

Buthelezi hinted that the charges against Matjila had to run their course. “All in South Africa are presumed guilty until proven otherwise,” he said, adding for good measure that this was especially true for “those of us who lived under apartheid”.

An internal audit to investigate this matter was being conducted, Buthelezi said.

“We don’t understand the hullabaloo, why people are getting so excited,” he said, adding it was important that these allegations be cleared.

This could be the case, but government has never really dealt with those implicated in wrongdoing unless it was politically convenient.

Also, with the load of #GuptaLeaks coming out revealing the extent of the state capture, and with a few somersault moves pulled around the management of a big and important state-owned enterprise like Eskom (remember the Molefe pension saga?), there seems to be a massive gap between what politicians say and what the public believes.

It’s likely that, if you bet money on whether Matjila will stay out the final two and a half years of his contract, you should strongly consider betting on him leaving prematurely.

In a move strangely similar to when former finance minister Pravin Gordhan was axed, Matjila was called back from a business trip to the United States to attend a special PIC meeting almost two weeks ago. It was clearly an urgent one too, and left Matjila flabbergasted.

Gigaba said ailing state-owned companies had not requested R100-billion from the PIC. SAA, however, needed a bailout and on Wednesday it would be the fourth time that this issue was discussed at a Cabinet meeting to determine a way forward.

Labour federation Cosatu has, however, been worried. Spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said they wanted to meet with Gigaba urgently “because we no longer believe anything”.

The DA, too, said Treasury should explain how it was planning to meet this week’s deadline on SAA’s funding requirements. He said the uncertainty could not remain until the Medium-Term Budget Policy Speech, set to take place in a month’s time. It’s this kind of uncertainty that could have a negative impact on the country’s sovereign ratings. DM

Photo: Then Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba addresses members of the media on the 2016 festive season traveller statistics; this briefing was held in Pretoria, 18 January 2017. (Photo: GCIS)