Public hearings on the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) Amendment Bill in the select committee on finance in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) will go ahead on Tuesday, amid fears of a last-minute bid to stop its passage.
The bill, which amends the governance arrangements of the PIC by adding trade union representatives to the board and legislates for public transparency of its investments, was passed by the National Assembly two weeks ago. The NCOP, which must also approve the bill, began processing it a week ago.
The PIC invests more than R2-trillion on behalf of the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF) as well as other government social funds. Several of its investments as well as the conduct of its executives and directors are under scrutiny at a judicial commission of inquiry, headed by retired judge Lex Mpati.
Mpati’s commission, which was given its terms of reference by President Cyril Ramaphosa, is also charged with making recommendations on the governance arrangements of the PIC. Two weeks ago Mpati wrote to finance minister Tito Mboweni expressing concern that the PIC Amendment Bill would be processed before the commission had completed its work.
Chair of parliament’s standing committee on finance Yunus Carrim said that by the time Mpati wrote to Mboweni, the committee — which initiated the bill itself — had already deliberated extensively on whether to go ahead and unanimously decided that it would.
“Constant allegations of wrongdoing in the PIC, the failure of the board to provide credible answers to our committee, the inertia of National Treasury and demands from the trade unions and civil society for action from our committee,” were among the reasons Carrim said led to their decision .
On the completion of the Mpati commission, it would be possible for parliament or the executive to table another amendment bill, he said.
Carrim however, also consulted parliament’s lawyers on the implications of possibly withdrawing the bill.
“Parliament’s lawyers pointed out that it would be inappropriate to suspend a bill because of a request from a commission appointed by the executive and would set a dangerous precedent,” he said.
Following its successful passage in the National Assembly, the bill will now be processed by the NCOP, which will examine it in its own right. Chairn of the finance select committee Charel de Beer said stakeholders would present their views on the bill, after which it will be deliberated on. The aim is to pass it before parliament rises on March 28.
The Treasury has opposed key aspects of the bill, disagreeing that the PIC should have to publicly disclose its investments in unlisted companies and opposing the proposal to include trade union representation on the board.
The Treasury argued that the PIC should only be required to disclose its investments to its clients, the largest one of which is the GEPF.
It also argued that trade union representation on the PIC board would confuse lines of accountability between employers and employees, which both already have representation on the GEPF board.
The bill has so far retained both of these provisions.
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