--- title: "New PIC board and reinstated Patrick Dlamini pledge allegiance to growth and compliance" description: "Fresh off a court victory over the old Public Investment Company board, reinstated CEO Patrick Dlamini met his new overseers, and they released a public statement. Daily Maverick listened and has some notes." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "ANALYSIS" author: "Lindsey Schutters" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/lindsey-schutters-2/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-08-12-new-pic-board-and-reinstated-patrick-dlamini-pledge-allegiance-to-growth-and-compliance/" published: "2026-08-12T21:06:50" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 888 --- # New PIC board and reinstated Patrick Dlamini pledge allegiance to growth and compliance > Fresh off a court victory over the old Public Investment Company board, reinstated CEO Patrick Dlamini met his new overseers, and they released a public statement. Daily Maverick listened and has some notes. By Lindsey Schutters · Published 12 August 2026, 23:06 SAST ## Key points - The Pretoria High Court overturned Patrick Dlamini’s precautionary suspension as CEO of the PIC and he was reinstated; the new Seiso Mohai‑led PIC board and Dlamini fronted up to the nation in a YouTube statement. - The board pledged an “independent” probe into the whistleblower report and said it will cooperate with the SIU, Public Protector and FSCA. Dlamini publicly vowed full cooperation and waived his right to block internal reviews. - But the optics jar: Dlamini had fought in court to suppress and discredit the same anonymous complaint, so his reinstatement looks hollow while the board continues to investigate alleged conflicts, misleading Parliament and executive overreach. - The Lanseria/Acapulco saga (a R333m debt‑funded BEE stake that ballooned to R629m on default) and Dlamini’s close ties to Harith — plus his seat on Lanseria’s board — raise real conflict‑of‑interest and credibility questions. ## Content ![Signpost-Analysis-NEWlabels](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/3tU4oK7Z2AC7ZB6o3oQ1aUlWuEU=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/label-analysis-2.jpg) The Public Investment Corporation’s (PIC) reinstated CEO, Patrick Dlamini, and the newly constituted board under Seiso Mohai addressed shareholders (read: the nation) on via YouTube following the Pretoria High Court’s ruling on 4 August setting aside Dlamini’s precautionary suspension. The posturing was all about projecting an image of absolute, and much-needed, stabilisation, structural continuity and robust financial stewardship. But their words, or rather the implications of their words, cast a different shadow. [YouTube video: "YouTube video"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7gR7YkXYug) “The board shall ensure that allegations against the CEO in a whistleblower report that was the subject of the high court litigation is investigated independently and will follow due processes,” PIC board chair Mohai said. To which Dlamini replied: “I offer my complete and transparent cooperation... I remain committed to participate fully in any and all independent reviews or investigations.” ### **No, it’s not semantics** But there’s a problem. In his urgent high court founding affidavit to overturn his suspension, Dlamini fought aggressively to invalidate and suppress the anonymous whistleblower complaint, swearing that the allegations were “patently not made in good faith”, were “made in bad faith”, and represented a malicious copy-paste of litigation threats from aggrieved, defaulting debtor Acapulco. By publicly announcing a fresh, “independent” investigation into the very same whistleblower report, the board is making an unintended admission: procedural illegality in the previous board’s suspension process does not equal innocence. Mohai has, then, conceded that the substance of the complaint (which alleged direct, unrecused conflicts of interest with Harith General Partners on the Lanseria file, misleading Parliament and unilateral executive overreach) is sufficient to necessitate an active, high-level probe. Dlamini’s return to office is, therefore, technically hollow, as his conduct remains under formal, active interrogation by his own board. [Catch up: High court orders PIC board to reinstate CEO Patrick Dlamini August 4, 2026 ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/Bd7MY3glbKEF2J6aJ_azxsXo_l8=/450x0/smart/file/attachments/2984/bm-dlamin_900134_8c3b302a0aebea9bc13344ec6f68d29e.jpg)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-08-04-high-court-orders-pic-board-to-reinstate-ceo-patrick-dlamini/) ### **On the public record** Mohai’s other admission, that “the PIC will fully cooperate with the ongoing investigations by the special investigation unit \[SIU\], the Public Protector and the financial sector conduct authority \[FSCA\]”, is also an interesting turn. The newly appointed Mohai board has now officially adopted a dual strategy: procedurally honouring the court’s judgment to reinstate Dlamini, while concurrently re-opening a full, independent forensic investigation into his unlisted portfolio conduct. This is also the first formal public admission by the PIC board that the SIU and the Public Protector are actively investigating the Lanseria/Acapulco transaction. Dlamini has now also publicly waived his right to refuse participation in internal board reviews, stating under oath that he will “allow every process to proceed fully fairly and without distraction”, effectively preventing him from using future high court interdicts to block the board’s independent whistleblower probe. > **Wait, what is the real deal with Acapulco?** > > Okay, let’s do this one last time… In 2013, Acapulco Trade and Invest 164 was parachuted in as the BEE partner for the buyout of Lanseria Airport. Behind the corporate veil sat a consortium of politically connected entities, with historical ties pointing directly to former PIC CEO Dan Matjila. > > If you had to name an original sin in the transaction, it would be this: it was a 100% debt-funded free ride. > > The PIC, acting for the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), handed Acapulco a R333-million loan to acquire a 25% stake in the airport. Acapulco didn’t put down a single cent of its own equity. > > The repayment structure was basically a gentleman’s handshake. Debt servicing relied entirely on future Lanseria dividends. When those distributions failed to materialise, there was no independent cash flow to service the loan – just a decade of aggressively compounding interest. > > By maturity in July 2023, the debt had mutated into a R629-million albatross. Acapulco defaulted, naturally. > > But it gets worse: the GEPF already held an impaired 37.5% direct stake and had bankrolled Harith’s matching 37.5% slice. > > By blindly funding Acapulco’s portion too, public pensioners absorbed 100% of the downside risk, while insiders chased the upside with zero skin in the game. ### **Mister right now** “Please accept my absolute assurance that your funds, investments and state assets are growing in value,” Dlamini assured South Africa on Wednesday. “They remain secure, stable and managed under strict institutional and governance controls...” All the Acapulco double-counting and [Daybreak](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-05-15-pics-daybreak-disaster-shows-that-remedies-without-accountability-wont-work/?dm_source=blocks-horizontal&dm_medium=card-link&dm_campaign=inform&dm_position=2&_gl=1*1edqkcg*_up*MQ..*_ga*MzA3NDI0MTQ5LjE3ODY1NTgyMzg.*_ga_Y7XD5FHQVG*czE3ODY1NTgyMzYkbzEkZzEkdDE3ODY1NTgyNTEkajQ1JGwwJGgyMTEyNzE1Njk4JGRuMFZnUFQ1X0o4VnViQ3Rwa2Z4UjVKekpNOV9GTWlGMnRB) misdeeds happened before Dlamini’s tenure, and it is fact that he was appointed and tasked with cleaning up the unlisted portfolio. Exposing a highly irregular, R500-million cash drainage to a defaulting BEE partner would have established him as an aggressive, zero-tolerance reformer in line with his turnaround specialist brand. But the optics were bad. By sitting on Lanseria’s board as a Harith-appointed director (the other Lanseria shareholder) and using his PIC executive authority to investigate Acapulco, Dlamini positioned himself as a valuable ally to a highly powerful, multibillion-rand private equity network that historically privatised public funding initiatives. [Click here for context: The Dlamini dilemma exposes fingerprints of suspended PIC CEO all over Harith’s Lanseria deal August 2, 2026 ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/mY_7HmM6v9b0YMdt9BXMuq85yVc=/450x0/smart/file/attachments/2995/2026-07-14_17-07-01_354390.jpeg)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-08-02-the-dlamini-dilemma-exposes-fingerprints-of-suspended-pic-ceo-all-over-hariths-lanseria-deal/) Dlamini did not orchestrate a fake crisis to enrich Harith. He investigated a genuine, severe governance collapse that resulted in a massive loss of public funds. However, by driving this investigation unilaterally while maintaining close personal and professional links to Harith’s leadership, the CEO compromised his own turnaround mandate. A strange stance to take when the core argument that won his court battle against the previous board was balanced on mandate overreach. **DM**