JOHANNESBURG - The Commission of Inquiry into allegations of impropriety regarding the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) is currently underway in Pretoria.
President Cyril Ramaphosa set up the commission in October last year and gave it six months to complete the investigation.
The PIC has been mired in controversy with allegations of impropriety against its directors regarding some of its investment decisions. PIC is the biggest asset manager in Africa and manages almost R2 trillion in government pension and other funds
Former president of the Supreme Court of Appeal, Justice Lex Mpati, was discharged from active service to be inquiry's commissioner and would be assisted by former Reserve Bank governor Gill Marcus, and veteran asset manager, Emmanuel Lediga.
Among the 16 Terms of Reference the Commission must probe, is whether any alleged impropriety regarding investment decisions by the PIC in media reports in 2017 and 2018 contravened any legislation.
The Commission must also probe whether PIC policy or contractual obligations resulted in any undue benefit for any PIC director, or employee or any associate or family member of any PIC director or employee at the time.
The Acting Secretary of the PIC, Wilna Louw was the first witness to take the stand. She began with listing the legislation that the PIC is governed by.