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Rwanda:
From Adversity To Stability
Introducing
Dr Dan Matjila
For 15 years, Dr Dan Matjila was at the helm of Africa’s largest asset manager, the state-owned Public Investment Corporation (PIC), first as the Risk Manager from 2003 to 2005 and then Chief Investment Officer from 2005 to 2014 and, for the last four years until 23 November 2018, Chief Executive Officer.
The PIC’s key clients were the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), Department of Labour Funds, Workman’s Compensation Funds, Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), Skills Funds, Department of Justice: Guardian Funds, and other public sector funds.
During the time that Dr Matjila led his highly talented team, the PIC enjoyed unprecedented success. Assets under management grew from R308.7 billion in 2005 to over R2.083 trillion in 2018.
GEPF’s asset base increased to more than R1.8 trillion from R277 billion. While the UIF also enjoyed exceptional growth, increasing its asset base from R9.9 billion to R155 billion.
This UIF growth rate enabled the government to fund COVID-19 TERS (the Temporary Employer-Employee Relief Scheme), which became a lifeline to millions of citizens who lost their income during the pandemic of 2020.
Growing the PIC’s assets under management from R308.7 billion in 2005 to over R2.083 trillion in 2018, so that millions of government workers could enjoy secure retirements.
Average returns on investments from 2008 to 2018 for GEPF: 10.25% per annum.
Average returns on investments from 2008 to 2018 for the UIF: 9.23% per annum.
Compound growth rate of the PIC’s assets under management from 2003 to 2018: 13.2% per annum.
Moreover, under Dr Dan’s leadership, the PIC consistently achieved clean audits – a rare occurrence in the public sector!
However, beyond the figures that contributed significantly to South Africa’s socio-economic development, The PIC also had a direct, positive impact on the SA economy, business, shareholders, and beneficiaries
The investments Dr Matjila and his team negotiated created 152 226 jobs, and financial support was made available to 785 SMEs. Additionally, 22 new hospitals, 45 349 affordable homes and over 11 900 student accommodation facilities were constructed.
Over and above the 450 000 pensioners who enjoyed stability and security from their monthly pension pay-outs, the 1.2 million active GEPF members also benefited from life-changing financial innovations. These included home loans, education loans, and participation in significant BEE transactions.
The PIC’s employees also benefited directly from Dr Matjila’s leadership. Between 2005 and 2018, the staff complement increased 10-fold from 35 employees to over 350. And of these new highly skilled positions created, approximately half were for investment professionals, the majority of which were young black women. A significant number were interns who came through the PIC internship programme and were absorbed into the organisation due to their outstanding performance.
