PIC suspends officials over technology deal

South Africa‘s state pension fund said on Tuesday that it had suspended two officials for flouting governance rules over an investment in local technology firm Ayo Technology Solutions.

The PIC is the biggest investor in Africa‘s most industrialised economy, holding a large volume of bonds issued by state-owned firms and equity stakes in some blue-chip companies.

The suspensions come as a state inquiry into governance at the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), which manages R2 trillion ($144 billion) in assets on behalf of the government, started this week.

The PIC said in a statement that it had suspended its executive head of listed investments and an assistant portfolio manager over the 2017 investment in Ayo Technology Solutions, which is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE).

A small opposition party, the United Democratic Movement, called for an investigation in the PIC last year over careless investment decisions, including the Ayo Technology Solutions deal.

The technology firm’s share price is down more than 40% since it listed on the JSE in 2017.

Former PIC Chief Executive Dan Matjila – who resigned in November after having been under fire for more than a year – said that the deal was a “great investment”.

The asset manager said on Tuesday that it would do everything in its power to restore its integrity.