The much-anticipated case between the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and Ayo Technology Solutions (AYO) kicked off in the Western Cape High Court last week with some explosive claims by the PIC’s first witness, Victor Seanie.
The PIC’s case is that a subscription agreement entered into by both parties in 2017 was irregular and illegal, and it seeks to recoup the R4.3billion it invested in the 29% shareholding deal – plus 10.25% per annum interest accrued from 2017.
R4.3bn is not chump change by any stretch of the imagination, and one would think the PIC, the custodian of more than R1.6 trillion in Government Employees Pension Fund monies, would exercise the most stringent of due diligence in how it invests its funds.
Seanie, a sacked former assistant portfolio manager at the PIC, told the court that the AYO deal was rushed, and referred to the process as “corrupt”, although he failed to produce evidence to prove such a claim, other than the PIC’s CEO, Dr Dan Matjila signing off on the deal before the teams had completed their work.
Later he admitted that the AYO deal was in fact within Matjila’s scope as set out by the PIC’s own policies, as Matjila had the authority to sign for deals up to R10bn.
Incidentally, it was the testimony of Seanie at the Mpati Commission of Inquiry in 2020 – who the PIC later dismissed following allegations of dishonesty, a lack of integrity and breaching his employment contract – that helped turn the spotlight on AYO and led to this court action.
The PIC’s second witness, Bertrandt Delport, former legal counsel at British Telecom SA (BTSA) and now its managing director, testified that BTSA and AYO had entered an “alliance” agreement that was anticipated to help AYO become one of the largest black empowerment ICT groups.
Later, however, Delport told the court that he did not have first-hand knowledge of the AYO deal and that he was unsure how a BTSA document could have got the numbers wrong when it came to discussing margins.
After a dramatic first week in the high court, more shocking revelations are sure to be uncovered about the dealings at the PIC.
* Taariq Halim, Editor of the Cape Argus newspaper.
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