The judicial commission of inquiry into the Public Investment Corporation heard on Tuesday that the results of a staff survey were manipulated to present a false picture of employee satisfaction.
The commission is investigating allegations of wrongdoing at the PIC, which manages R2.2trn in investments on behalf of public servants.
Faced with a low staff morale and claims of victimisation, the state-run asset manager conducted a two-part survey between October 2016 and May 2017.
Ramabu Motimele, a senior HR business partner at the asset manager, on Tuesday testified that staff were reluctant to participate in the survey, with employees not trusting the process.
Since hearings commenced in mid-January 2019, witnesses before the commission have spoken about a prevalent culture fear in the company, as well as the purging of those who fall out of favour with top management. The inquiry has heard that managers were reluctant to question instructions for fear of victimisation, even when these concerned critical investment decisions.
Motimele said participation in the first round of the survey was too low and prompted a second round. However, employees were again reluctant, despite assurances of anonymity. They asked that their ages and race not be revealed in apparent fear of being identified and victimised.
What was of more concern was the response of the Head of Human Resources, Chris Pholwane, who ignored and dismissed concerns raised around the survey, according to Motimele. Pholwane previously gave testimony before the commission on January 22 about the internal governance at the PIC.
Motimele said on Tuesday that a total of 168 employees, or 51% of the PIC staff participated in the survey.
“The results of the survey did not surprise me at all. We were fortunate to have obtained a score above 50%, given the circumstances relating to the PIC climate at the time,” said Motimele.
Assistant Commissioner Emmanuel Lediga wanted to know when the climate of fear set in at the PIC. Motimele, who joined the company in 2016, said he found it there when he arrived and could not say when it started.
Completely misleading
The majority of employees responded negatively to the survey, describing the work environment as “frustrating, political, unfair, torturous, bureaucratic” among other unfavourable factors.
Some employees were neutral about their feelings. Motimele said in his experience, neutral sentiments were regarded as negative, however, Pholwane suggested that they be incorporated with positive sentiments.
“I advised him that in my entire work experience, I have never come across such a practice, where neutral scores are combined with the positive to enhance the final outcome.”
As a result, score card of the PIC employee satisfaction increased from 56.7% to 74.8%, above a 60% target.
“This was completely misleading, given the terrible outcomes of the survey.” He testified that such falsification was against good corporate governance and the real outcome of the poll required intervention.
The commission has been asked to submit its final report to President Cyril Ramaphosa by the July 31.
It is not yet know whether Pholwane will be asked to return to the commission to respond to Tuesday's evidence. The commission does not make the names of witnesses public before they testify.
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