PIC CEO Patrick Dlamini reinstated

Patrick Dlamini,CEO of the PIC,has been reinstated by the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.

Gallo Images/Sunday Times/James Oatway

Public Investment Corporation (PIC) CEO Patrick Dlamini’s suspension has been set aside,and his suspension notice declared unlawful and invalid,the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria ruled on Tuesday.

Dlamini was suspended by the now-dissolved board,headed by Deputy Minister of Finance David Masondo. The board was given notice two weeks ago by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to resign or be fired.

Judge Mandla Mbongwe said that the board did not have the authority to dismiss Dlamini. The PIC’s delegations of authority state that the board may initiate the CEO’s suspension,but it must be approved by the minister and the Cabinet.

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Says the judgment: “None of these prerequisites were met. The Board acted unilaterally,without Ministerial approval,and in disregard of its own policies. The suspension was,therefore,ultra vires and invalid.”

Mbongwe said that the suspension and the sudden resignation of several board members “posed a grave threat to the stability of government investments across numerous sectors of the economy. The potential destabilisation of the PIC carries with it the risk of massive economic harm to the national economy,harm so profound that it is,in truth,too ghastly to contemplate.”

The PIC did not oppose Dlamini’s application as the board had been dissolved by the time it was heard last week. Costs were awarded against it.