South Africa: The Dlamini Dilemma Exposes Fingerprints of Suspended PIC CEO All Over Harith's Lanseria Deal

2 August 2026
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
By Lindsey Schutters

An October 2025 update letter to the Government Employees' Pension Fund sought permission to pay, and explained that the Public Investment Corporation had been ordered to pay, Acapulco R411m (plus costs). It was signed by CEO Patrick Dlamini, two months before commissioning PwC to do a forensic investigation into the matter. Daily Maverick has seen the document.

Under the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) Act 23 of 2004 and its subsequent PIC Amendment Act 14 of 2019, the chief executive officer (CEO) bears explicit statutory, financial and fiduciary duties as both the operational head and an executive director of the board.

The PIC's own literature says its primary function is to manage and invest funds on behalf of state depositors, most notably the Government Employees' Pension Fund (GEPF). The CEO has a direct fiduciary responsibility to ensure that all investments strictly mirror the approved client investment mandates rather than political or personal whims.

FOR CONTEXT Suspended CEO Patrick Dlamini is challenging the PIC board despite the R900m question July 28, 2026 But the PIC Amendment Act of 2019 significantly altered the investment framework by introducing a statutory balancing act.

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The CEO and the board must ensure that the PIC "seeks to invest" in projects that further the developmental objectives of South Africa (such as job creation, industrial development and infrastructure).

Crucially, the amendment explicitly states that this developmental focus must not compromise the financial interests of the depositors. The CEO's fiduciary duty is to ensure these dual mandates co-exist without exposing public servants'...

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