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Deputy minister in the Presidency for planning, monitoring and evaluation Seiso Mohai is expected to take over the reins at the troubled Public Investment Corporation (PIC).This comes after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday approved the appointment of Mohai, following the resignation of deputy finance minister David Masondo last week amid reports of a breakdown in relations between him, finance minister Enoch Godongwana and the now-suspended CEO Patrick Dlamini.Sunday Times reported last weekend that Masondo also resigned after being given an ultimatum by President Cyril Ramaphosa to either resign or be fired.Mohai, who has been in parliament for more than 13 years, is expected to be announced as the new PIC board chairperson when minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni delivers the post-cabinet statement on Thursday.The appointment of Mohai comes after Ramaphosa is said to have sought legal opinion on whether it was possible to temporarily move the PIC to the Presidency to shield the asset manager from the wrangling.“His initial idea was for the legal opinion to look into the two possible actions he can take: either removing it altogether from Treasury and having it report directly to him, or alternatively whether he can appoint someone who will sit in the Presidency as the chair of the board.”But the legal opinion is believed to have told Ramaphosa that it was not possible to completely move the PIC to the Presidency, and that the law governing the PIC allows for the appointment of any deputy minister from a department that is part of the economic cluster.“But that legal opinion has come back to say it is not possible. Basically, that action would have to be preceded by an amendment of the law governing the PIC, and that process will obviously take time,” said a source.“Legally it can’t happen. The current law says the minister of Treasury must appoint a chair of the PIC board who is the deputy minister of finance or any other minister in the economic cluster. So that was the challenge, but he did want to move it.”The Presidency was designated economic cluster status in recent years following the decision to move the state-owned entities to the department of planning, monitoring and evaluation.This meant that though Ramaphosa could not move the PIC to his office, he could still appoint someone in the Presidency to chair it.The Sunday Times reported that since receiving the legal opinion, Ramaphosa had been considering Mohai as a possible new chair.“For now, the view is that he still appoints someone in the Presidency to chair the board, and I think that person will be Seiso Mohai, the deputy minister of planning, monitoring and evaluation, because at least it will still be in the Presidency,” a highly placed source told the Sunday Times.“I know for sure that he respects the president. He’s a political animal. We just don’t know what he will do, but I don’t think he will be like a Masondo. He is more mature,” a source said.Mohai has a Master of Science degree in Technology and Management and a postgraduate Diploma in Management of Technology and Innovation from the Da Vinci Business School.He has served on several committees in parliament, including chairing the standing committee on appropriations. He also co-chaired the joint standing committee on financial management of parliament. He is also a member of the select committee on finance.TimesLIVE
