Two Public Investment Corporation (PIC) directors have resigned less than 48 hours after the board voted by an overwhelming majority to place chief executive Patrick Dlamini on precautionary suspension.
PIC chairperson David Masondo confirmed to the Mail & Guardian on Wednesday that the board had accepted the resignations of non-executive directors Thabi Nkosi and Nosiphiwo Balfour.
“The Board has accepted the resignations of Ms Nkosi and Ms Balfour. We thank them for their service and contribution to the work of the PIC in the last eight months and wish them well,” Masondo told the M&G.
The resignations come two days after the board resolved, by nine votes to two, to place Dlamini on precautionary suspension pending an investigation into allegations contained in a whistleblower report.
Asked whether Nkosi and Balfour were the two directors who opposed the suspension, Masondo declined to disclose how individual board members voted.
“While it is not the Board’s practice to comment on the views or contributions of individual Board members, it is a matter of public record that the Board resolved, by an overwhelming majority of nine out of eleven members, to implement a precautionary suspension,” he said.
“We recognise that Board members may hold differing views on matters before the Board and respect those differences.
“Healthy dissent, robust debates conducted honestly and in the appropriate governance forums, is a hallmark of good corporate governance. What is important is that, once decisions are lawfully taken, they are respected and implemented in the best interests of the institution and the people we serve.”
Both Nkosi and Balfour joined the PIC board about eight months ago.
Earlier on Wednesday, the PIC appointed chief financial officer Batandwa Damoyi as acting chief executive following Dlamini’s suspension.
The resignations are the latest developments in a week of upheaval at the state-owned asset manager, where the board is now overseeing an investigation into its suspended chief executive while filling vacancies in both the board and executive leadership.