The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has announced its intent to block the re-election of a MultiChoice board member due to concerns over questionable consultancy fees, Business Times reported today.
The PIC, the largest asset manager in Africa with a 15% stake in MultiChoice, is the company’s second-biggest investor after French entertainment giant Canal+.
The PIC has criticized the continued payment of millions in advisory fees to Jim Volkwyn, one of MultiChoice’s longest-serving board members.
MultiChoice informed TechFinancials this week that the controversial consultancy agreement with Jim Volkwyn, who is up for re-election at the company’s AGM on Wednesday, will expire in 2028. By then, the agreement will have run for a decade and earned Volkwyn over R10 million.
The renewal of this consultancy contract contradicts board chair Elias Masilela’s previous commitment to review such agreements.
Speaking to Business Times on Friday evening, PIC chairman David Masondo said, “If this is true [the extension of Volkwyn’s consultancy agreement], it would in my view be tantamount to breaches of corporate governance principles.”
The deputy finance minister said the PIC would move to block Volkwyn’s reappointment to the board on Wednesday.“It would be unacceptable to support the appointment of such board members. We must all root out anything, regardless of how it is structured and presented, that undermines corporate governance in both the private and public sectors.”
A similar consultancy agreement with one board member, Kgomotso Moroka, was terminated in 2023, while Imtiaz Patel retired from the board as chair and was no longer eligible.
For more read: PIC chair warns MultiChoice over board consultancy
The Public Investment Corporation (PIC) has vowed to block the re-election of a MultiChoice board member over questionable consultancy fees.
MultiChoice said on Friday it was not uncommon to enter into consultancy service agreements when a company requires skills, specialist knowledge and a commitment of time over and above normal board services, especially in specialised/niche sectors like pay-TV.“On the same basis, consulting agreements have been terminated where these services were no longer required,” it said.
Also read: GUGU LOURIE: Is MultiChoice board drunk on ‘people’s wine’?
