Was it a case of mistaken identity, a lapse in governance systems, or a failed attempt at manipulating an appointment process?
Just days after landing a crucial directorship at the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), Africa’s biggest asset manager, newly minted non-executive director Mpumelelo Maseko was forced to resign after it emerged the ministry of finance had appointed him by mistake.
In a cruel turn of events, Maseko lasted only three days in the role — a similar time period to that controversial former finance minister Des van Rooyen spent at 40 Church Street in December 2015, before his appointment was rescinded by then-president Jacob Zuma. Finance minister Enoch Godongwana has also asked Maseko to vacate his position.
The Sunday Times has learnt that the former Treasury official had to resign after it emerged Godongwana thought he was appointing another Maseko — Mpumelo — a former head of the PIC’s Isibaya Fund, which houses the asset manager’s unlisted investments.
When contacted for comment on Friday, Mpumelelo Maseko confirmed his resignation but referred further queries to the ministry of finance. “The ministry is best placed to speak on it,” he said.
The PIC also referred queries to the ministry, saying: “The appointment of directors to the board of the [PIC] is the prerogative of the minister of finance, which he exercises in line with the provisions of section 6 of the Public Investment Corporation Act of 2004, as amended. The ministry of finance is, therefore, the best authority to respond to your query.”
On Friday, the ministry acknowledged receipt of an enquiry from the Sunday Times but said it would not be able to meet the publication’s deadline for comment.
It is further understood that efforts are not under way to rectify the mistake by submitting Mpumelo Maseko’s name to the cabinet for approval at one of its weekly meetings.
The embarrassing gaffe was noticed only after the other Maseko’s name and profile had gone through the Treasury’s governance process for appointing directors to its entities and been signed off by Godongwana. It was then subjected to the cabinet process, which ordinarily involves vetting the candidate and announcing his appointment, which happened on September 3.
Godongwana seemed oblivious of the error when, in public utterances after the announcement of the new board, he described Mpumelo Maseko as “a very good professional”.
He also also sought to distance Mpumelo Maseko from previous negative sentiment associated with poor performance and questionable transactions involving the Isibaya Fund.
This includes the disastrous Daybreak Farms transaction, where the asset manager pumped more than R2bn into acquiring a chicken producer that is today, 10 years after it was capitalised, in business rescue and valued at zero.
It is not clear how Mpumelelo Maseko, a former Treasury employee, could have been mixed up with Mpumelo Maseko, who worked at the PIC for 13 years between 2011 and 2024, when he resigned after butting heads with suspended chief investment officer Kabelo Rikhotso.
Speculation in the state’s development finance investment circles is that the mix-up was not an error but an attempt to bamboozle Godongwana into appointing the wrong Maseko. Before he left the PIC last year, Mpumelo Maseko had been vocal about decisions related to controversial settlement agreements.
Because of the vast resources at its disposal — about R3-trillion — various factions, including political ones, have historically fought for control of the PIC.
Last week, the Sunday Times reported that Rikhotso had been placed on precautionary suspension after the emergence of a report from a whistleblower that made damning allegations about compliance issues and a number of settlement agreements he oversaw.
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