A whistleblower has escalated the governance crisis at the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) to Parliament, alleging that Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana attempted to interfere in the board's handling of suspended chief executive Patrick Dlamini after directors voted overwhelmingly to suspend him.

The allegations are contained in a notice submitted by the whistleblower to Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance that has been seen by the Mail \& Guardian.

Last week, PIC chairperson David Masondo confirmed that the board had voted by nine votes to two to place Dlamini on precautionary suspension pending an investigation into allegations contained in a whistleblower complaint. While declining to identify how individual directors voted, he said robust disagreement was a hallmark of good corporate governance.

According to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the matter, the board's decision was taken despite opposition from Godongwana.

The sources said the Minister subsequently sought to persuade board members to rescind the resolution. The sources said the Minister then warned board members that he would dissolve the board if they did not reverse the decision. Four directors later resigned in protest, the sources said.

According to sources, Lerato Makwetla, Lindy Bodewig, Mpumelo Maseko and Dorothy Kobe have also resigned from the PIC board, bringing the total number of resignations to six. The Mail \& Guardian  reported last week on the resignations of Thabi Nkosi and Nosiphiwo Balfour.

In the notice to Parliament, the whistleblower alleges that Godongwana demanded the resignation of the PIC board while it was seized with disciplinary, forensic and regulatory processes involving Dlamini. It argues that dissolving the board while those processes were under way would amount to interference in the governance of the PIC and would halt the board's inquiries into the suspended chief executive.

The notice further alleges that Dlamini had, for years, claimed he enjoyed the Minister's personal protection and that no process against him would be allowed to run its course. It calls on Parliament to investigate what it describes as the relationship between the two men dating back to their time at the Development Bank of Southern Africa.

The whistleblower warns that the governance of the PIC and the retirement savings entrusted to it are at risk, arguing that ordinary governance processes have failed. The notice says the original whistleblower complaint, submitted on 9 June, warned that the matter would be escalated to Parliament if meaningful reform did not follow, and urges the Standing Committee on Finance to intervene.

The PIC manages more than R3 trillion in assets on behalf of public sector clients, including the Government Employees Pension Fund. The notice places the dispute before Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance as the governance crisis at the state asset manager continues to deepen.

Asked to comment, Godongwana told the Mail \& Guardian: "I know nothing about that. I can't comment."