Public Investment Corporation (PIC) chief executive Patrick Dlamini is facing questions about his private business interests after an anonymous whistleblower complaint called on the corporation's board to establish whether he declared a 40% founding shareholding in a Mozambican mining company.
The 11-page document, dated 12 October and obtained by the Mail & Guardian, identifies its authors as concerned PIC employees who have withheld their names. Their identities have not been independently established.
Mozambique's official company gazette records Dlamini as a founding shareholder of Sereia Mining, Limitada, registered on 15 January 2024 under company number 105016476.
The records identify Dlamini as holding 40% of the company, with fellow founding shareholder Moshabe William Ndlovu also holding 40%. Two other shareholders held the remaining 20%.
Sereia Mining was established to undertake activities including mineral prospecting, extraction, processing and trading.
The records confirm Dlamini's shareholding when the company was incorporated but do not establish whether he continues to hold the interest or whether it was disclosed to the PIC.
The whistleblowers allege that Dlamini did not declare the shareholding and have asked the board to examine his declarations of interest.
The complaint also asks the board to investigate Dlamini's alleged connections to NDHN Minerals and PNBS Traders. The Mail & Guardian has not independently established the nature of those connections through company registry records.
Separately, records published by Zambia's Ministry of Mines and Mineral Development confirm that an exploration licence application by NDHN Minerals (Pty) Ltd was approved on 22 August 2025.
The application, numbered 40788-HQ-LEL, covers approximately 14,778 hectares in Kalomo, Southern Province, and includes exploration for gold, copper, lithium and rare earth elements.
The official record confirms the approval of the application but does not establish that Dlamini holds an interest in the Zambian applicant or that a final exploration licence was issued.
The complainants have asked the PIC board to obtain a declaration of Dlamini's outside interests and business associates, determine whether the interests were disclosed and establish whether any required approvals were obtained.
The complaint also raises questions about Dlamini's former position on the board of Lanseria Airport.
The authors allege that the board responsible for recommending his appointment as PIC chief executive was unaware of the directorship.
The PIC previously stated that Dlamini disclosed his Lanseria board position after joining the corporation and subsequently resigned from it.
The complainants have asked the board to examine its records to establish what was disclosed and when.
The latest complaint follows an earlier whistleblower report submitted in June concerning the PIC's handling of its investment in Lanseria Airport and Dlamini's role in decisions relating to that investment.
Dlamini was placed on precautionary suspension in July. The board said at the time that the suspension was intended to facilitate an independent investigation and did not constitute a finding of wrongdoing.
The Gauteng High Court subsequently declared the suspension unlawful. The judgment did not determine the merits of the allegations.
In August, the newly appointed PIC board undertook to ensure that the whistleblower allegations were independently investigated and that due process was followed.
The complainants now want the board to clarify the status of that investigation and any outstanding disciplinary proceedings.
This is not a new development. A few years ago, the PIC Board received a complaint by a group of former executives regarding the woes at Daybreak Farms.
The PIC did not take those concerns seriously.
They argue that the PIC's responsibility for managing public-sector retirement savings makes the disclosure and management of potential conflicts of interest particularly important.
The complainants have warned that they may refer their concerns to Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance and other authorities if the board does not address them.
The Mail & Guardian sent questions to the PIC and Dlamini concerning the alleged business interests and whether they had been declared. Neither responded by the deadline.