The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has appointed chief financial officer Batandwa Damoyi as acting chief executive with immediate effect following the precautionary suspension of CEO Patrick Dlamini.
The appointment was announced on Wednesday, two days after the PIC board suspended Dlamini pending an investigation into allegations of impropriety contained in a whistleblower report.
In a statement, the board said Damoyi’s appointment would ensure continuity of leadership while internal processes relating to Dlamini’s suspension are under way.
Damoyi, a chartered accountant, joined the PIC as chief financial officer in April 2024. The board said she has more than 17 years’ executive leadership experience in financial management, governance and strategic leadership across the public and private sectors and has played a key role in strengthening the corporation’s financial stewardship and governance since joining the PIC.
“The Board is confident that Ms Batandwa Damoyi will provide the leadership and stability required to ensure the PIC continues to serve its clients and stakeholders with integrity and excellence,” the board said.
The appointment comes as the PIC faces further upheaval.
The Mail & Guardian has learnt that non-executive directors Thabi Nkosi and Nosiphiwo Balfour have resigned from the board, less than 48 hours after Dlamini’s precautionary suspension.
The reasons for their resignations were not immediately clear. The PIC had not publicly announced the departures by the time of publication.
Dlamini was suspended on Monday after the board invoked its whistleblower policy to allow for an investigation into allegations of impropriety contained in a whistleblower report submitted last month. The board said at the time that the suspension did not constitute a finding of wrongdoing but was intended to ensure a fair, objective and independent investigation.
The M&G understands that the board voted 9-2 in favour of placing Dlamini on precautionary suspension.
The latest developments leave the PIC with an acting chief executive, two board vacancies and an investigation into its suspended CEO as one of South Africa’s most important state institutions undergoes one of the biggest leadership shake-ups in its recent history.