ANN CROTTY: Reinventing the PIC
A special investigating unit could help guard against corporate crookery
As it mulls over the enormous value destruction it has aided and abetted in the past 10 years or more, the Public Investment Corp (PIC) should give some thought to establishing a special investigative unit — one with autonomy and sheltered from the bureaucracy and politics that seem invariably to corrode powerful organisations. The arrival of an energetic Brian Molefe in the early 2000s encouraged the hope that the PIC would become a more open and active advocate for good corporate governance. Sadly, that did not happen. Instead, he led the PIC down a dark, value-destroying path. This doesn’t mean we should abandon efforts to ensure the PIC plays the role appropriate to its position in our economy and society. It merely means we have to think hard about the structure and processes put in place to protect the integrity and effectiveness of such a unit. Essentially, the unit should be focused on discouraging the value-destroying behaviour evident in more and more JSE-listed companies....
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