JOHANNESBURG - The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) Commission of Inquiry into impropriety, led by retired Judge Lex Mpati continues today in Pretoria.
Today, UDM leader, Bantu Holomisa will be cross examined by the Lebashe Investment Group. This comes after Holomisa made allegations against the company weeks ago when he testified.
Yesterday, it came to light that within a year of the Public Investment Corporation’s participation in Jayendra Naidoo’s acquisition of 2.75 percent of Steinhoff, through his empowerment group Lancaster – dubbed Project Sierra – the Steinhoff share price began to decline and this impacted on the PlC’s security package.
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This was the submission of PIC executive Botsang Morobe to the PIC Commission of Inquiry, who said as a result of this, Lancaster Group approached the PIC with a proposal for the PIC to consider facilitating Project Blue Buck, a transaction that would result in a change in PlC’s security package to a much more enhanced position.
Morobe, who is an associate principal in Isibaya Private Equity & Structured Investment Products (SIPs) at the PIC, said she could not confirm how the transaction was originated and whether there had been prior iterations of the investment proposal before her involvement.
“In May 2016, I was tasked to work on Project Sierra in my capacity as an investment associate. I received a copy of an investment proposal prepared by Symphony Capital … from Mervin Muller who was the acting executive head of Private Equity & SlPs at the time,” she said.
Morobe related to the commission how Project Sierra was taken through a series of Investment Committee meetings for consideration, but the committee members were not completely satisfied with the transaction and required the transaction team to do additional work.