The Federation of Unions of South Africa (FEDUSA) is outraged that the infamous Gupta family is brazenly trying to wrest control of the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and lay its hands on billions of rands in public servants pension funds.

The PIC warehouses nearly R 2 trillion in public servants pension money including the monthly contributions of more than 2.69 million public servants. On Thursday media reports indicated that the Guptas were gunning for the removal of PIC Chief Executive Officer Dr Dan Matjila and replace him with their own business partners when the PIC Boards meets at an ad hoc Special Meeting tomorrow that originally had only been scheduled as a Directors Affairs Committee Meeting.

The PIC deputy chairman Xolani Mkhwanazi told Dr Matjila to cut short his international business trip to respond to an accusation that he used PIC funds to finance a personal project related to someone he is allegedly in a relationship with. Furthermore, Matjila, was told to attend a special meeting on Friday 15 September 2017.

FEDUSA demand that this special meeting of 15 September 2017 be postponed said Dennis George FEDUSA General Secretary and has written a letter in this regard to Deputy Finance Minister Sifiso Buthelezi in his capacity as Chairperson of the PIC. FEDUSA requested that an urgent meeting be held with the leadership of Labour to discuss the matter.

George also called on the Guptas to lay their hands off the PIC and stop throwing mud at ethical and patriotic leaders such as Matjila in order to steal public servants hard earned pension money.

An unprecedented stratagem to raid public servants pensions in order to throw life lines to struggling state owned enterprises such as South African Airways (SAA), Eskom, the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) and to finance toxic political projects patronized by the Guptas has been gathering heavy clouds in recent months and is a matter of deep concern for FEDUSA and its affiliates; especially in the light of Finance Minister Gigaba’s failure to distance himself from media reports that National Treasury intended dipping into Government Employees Pension Funds (GEPF) warehoused in the PIC.

“Our public sector unions are concerned that in the absence of any immediate clarity of the matter, their members might resort to resigning from the public service in order to save their hard earned investments and to secure their future. Any such resignations en masse triggered by panic will have a severe negative impact on the GEPF and has potential to collapse it,” said George.

“Such a scenario has also the potential to result in former GEPF members who have exhausted their pension pay-outs becoming a burden on the national social grant system”.

 

Issued by FEDUSA