JOHANNESBURG - The Public Servants Association (PSA) on Monday said it was proud to have played a role into "depoliticising" the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and with the inclusion of labour in the PIC's board.
Last week, businessman Dr Reuel Khoza was elected as the new interim chairperson of the PIC board for a period of one year until the end of July 2020.
Khoza's appointment broke a long-standing tradition as he became the first PIC chairman who is not a politician or deputy minister of finance.
The veteran businessman has a long track record of leadership positions in the private and public sectors, having previously served as board chairperson at the Nedbank, Globeleq, and GlaxoSmithKline SA.
In a statement, the PSA said it supported Khoza's appointment as it had campaigned for the inclusion of trade union directors on the PIC board and for Africa’s largest asset manager to be independent to implement the mandate agreed with pensioners and public servants.
"The PSA made written submissions to the parliamentary standing committee on finance concerning the PIC second amendment bill, dated 15 June 2019, to break the unjustified tradition to have the deputy minister of finance as the automatic board chairperson rather than the Chairperson being appointed from members of the board," it said
"The PSA also launched a high court application in August 2018 in which the union expressed its significance and direct interest on how government employees pension fund assets are invested.
"The PSA insisted that the minister must appoint members of the board in consultation with cabinet, after having had due regard to nominations submitted to him by depositors, as was done through the public service coordinating bargaining council process."
Mugwena Maluleke, the general secretary of the South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU), is also a non-executive director to the interim board of the PIC.