It is extraordinary and troubling that a board which oversaw the growth of Public Investment Corporation assets from R2-trillion to almost R3.9-trillion was suddenly and quietly replaced. Only one of the 10 new directors has any experience in asset management.

On Wednesday, 10 September 2025, buried halfway down on page six of a post-Cabinet press statement, South Africans were informed in a single line that all but one member of the board of the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) had been replaced.

Ten new non-executive directors were appointed, with neither explanation nor public consultation.

It is extraordinary and troubling that a board which oversaw the growth of PIC assets from R2-trillion to almost R3.9-trillion was suddenly and quietly replaced. Even more alarming are media reports this week confirming that only one of the 10 new directors has any experience in asset management.

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Questions about the new board's capacity to safeguard trillions of rands in public funds are well founded.

The PIC is not just another run-of-the-mill public institution. It is effectively South Africa's state asset manager. How it is governed affects every South African, and most directly the millions of public servants whose pensions it holds, including teachers, nurses, police officers and civil servants.

The sudden removal of the board was deliberate and quiet, yet the stakes are enormous. There is a duty on MPs to ascertain who now sits on the board entrusted with nearly R3.9-trillion in public...