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Matjila says he was at odds with PIC board, Gordhan over investment in CFR Pharmaceuticals

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Former Chief Executive Officer of the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) Dan Matjila says he was at loggerheads with the board and the former Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan regarding his refusal to invest in a Chilean drug manufacturing company, CFR Pharmaceuticals.

Matjila was testifying before the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the PIC in Pretoria on Tuesday.

He says in 2014 CFR was to acquire a 24% stake from Adcock – the biggest ARV supplier in the country which the PIC also had a stake in.

Matjila says he was accused of blocking Foreign Direct Investment.

“The issues that were going to be tested and people who were going to be interviewed made it clear to me this was more a personal vendetta than just a governance review. And I had a strong belief if it was a governance review, it would have involved executive directors to assist in driving this process, if it was done transparently.

Terms of reference were not shared with anyone. I was just lucky that someone decided to share with me the terms of reference and once I saw the terms of reference, I shared with the chairman at that time,” Matjila explains.

Matjila has stressed that his appointment was made on merit. He became the Chief Executive Officer of the PIC in 2014 after a heavily contested interview process which was led by an external recruitment company.

He says the shortlist had four other people, but he was the only internal candidate. Matjila is adamant that he was not a cadre deployee.

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