South Africa appointed a deputy minister in the presidency office as chair of the state-owned $200 billion pension fund, as part of a complete board overhaul following weeks of governance turmoil.
Seiso Mohai’s appointment, whose candidacy was first reported by Semafor, shifts political oversight of the fund into President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office and breaks a decade-long tradition of handing the gavel to the deputy finance minister in the National Treasury.
Mohai will lead a new bench of seven directors at the Public Investment Corporation — the lifeblood of South African capital markets, holding roughly 20% of the Johannesburg bourse. Former African Development Bank vice president Bajabulile Swazi Tshabalala is also among the appointees, injecting development finance expertise.
The new bench inherits a fire to put out after the suspension of PIC’s CEO over a botched airport transaction sparked a wave of board resignations and shone a harsh spotlight on the fund’s policy-driven venture arm, where 40% of its $6 billion portfolio is on life support.