Daybreak Foods workers call for management overhaul amid financial turmoil
Image: NSPCA
Banele Ginidza
Workers at Daybreak Foods' farms have laid down a series of demands that centre on the immediate termination of Chief People Officer Tshepo Yvonne Mosadi's contract, alongside a comprehensive overhaul of the company's board and management structure.
This demand comes as the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) on Friday injected a further R74 million into the embattled farming establishment in a bid to pay for outstanding salaries for April, buy chicken feed supplies, and for specific essential operational expenses.
The R74m, which is part of the R250m financial support requested by Daybreak in February, was initially earmarked for capital expenditure.
On Friday, the Daybreak Workers Union issued a letter detailing their demands and expressed deep concerns over past management practices.
"To avoid suffering the same fate, we are eliminating that risk, and avoiding the new cash injection falling into the same hands that have already proven to be incapable and incompetent to run and manage the establishment," read the letter, which was seen by Business Report.
Workers also voiced multiple grievances, including the accounting methods related to overtime, delays in payment of May salaries, and inadequate provisions for Personal Protective Clothing (PPE). Further, there were calls for revisions in production pauses to ensure better working conditions, alongside critical changes to the slaughter culture that could impact both worker safety and animal welfare.
Mosadi, a nominee for the Chief Human Resources Officer Awards in 2023, has faced backlash, accused by workers of being disconnected from their plight.
Sources indicate that the PIC, which recently authorised a R100 million emergency fund known as the "Sunday Account," aims to address the immediate liquidity needs that have left workers and the company in a precarious situation.
This emergency fund, confirmed on Thursday and Friday, is a part of the overall financial package being arranged by the PIC.
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Advertisement
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Next
Stay
Close ✕
Though the PIC on Friday announced the decision to provide immediate financial support to Daybreak Foods, it reiterated that the board and management of Daybreak Foods remained responsible and accountable for the company's operations and finances.
"The PIC is strengthening the board and assisting it to strengthen management to help to bring stability to the company and to resume normal operations," said the PIC.
"Daybreak's leadership is tasked to develop and implement a turnaround strategy and a credible turnaround plan to ensure long- term sustainability and growth, including how the company intends to avert job losses and safeguard the welfare of the livestock."
Meanwhile, the National Council of SPCAs (NSPCA) on Saturday obtained an urgent court order against Daybreak Foods, compelling the company to cease inhumane culling practices and provide adequate care for hundreds of thousands of breeder birds at risk of starvation and suffering.
This followed a catastrophic welfare emergency currently unfolding at two of Daybreak's breeder farms in Bela-Bela and Mookgopong. An estimated 594 000 birds are at immediate risk of starvation, suffering from cannibalism, injuries, and prolonged neglect due to insufficient feeding and inhumane culling practices.
According to a whistleblower report, the upheaval at the company stems from Daybreak's attempt to remove the PIC as mandate holder and appoint a private entity specialising in investors mandates.
The report revealed that the PIC acts only as an investor mandate holder on behalf of these shareholders, not as a direct shareholder with the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), and the Compensation Fund (CF), each holding 33.3% of the entity.
The complications have disrupted normal governance, with no Annual General Meetings (AGMs) convened since 2021 and a shocking turnover of four CEOs in merely four years — a clear reflection of governance failures.
A whistleblower report has drawn attention to inadequate board oversight, failure to exercise diligent oversight of executive decisions, absence of consequence management enabled unchecked misconduct, deficiencies in fiscal management created vulnerabilities for mismanagement.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
IOL News
4 days ago
- IOL News
PIC sells down Astral stake after chicken ban ends
Chicken producer Astral Foods has notified shareholders that South Africa's largest asset manager, the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), has sold down its stake from 27% to 24%. This comes after a ban on poultry imports from Brazil was recently lifted, enabling shipments to start entering South Africa again from about 10 days ago. Astral Foods produces several well-known chicken brands, including Goldi, County Fair, Festive, and Mountain Valley. They also market and distribute chicken products under the brand name Supa Star. A ban on all poultry imports from Brazil was instituted some two months ago after an outbreak of avian influenza, which affected the supply of mechanically deboned meat (MDM) and chicken. MDM is the raw ingredient for polony and viennas and can now be shipped into South Africa again, after an eight-week suspension.
IOL News
6 days ago
- IOL News
PIC grilled over R1. 7bn Daybreak support
Daybreak Farms has become emblematic of some of the challenges facing the PIC's unlisted investments portfolio during a period of heightened public scrutiny. Image: NSPCA THE Public Investment Corporation (PIC) faced intense scrutiny in Parliament last week over its handling of high-risk unlisted investments, including a hefty bailout of the embattled poultry giant Daybreak Farms. South Africa's largest asset manager of public funds was on the backfoot, defending its decision to inject more than R1.7 billion into Daybreak Farms, a vertically integrated poultry business on the brink of liquidation. Daybreak has become emblematic of some of the challenges facing the PIC's unlisted investments portfolio during a period of heightened public scrutiny. At the heart of the inquiry was Deputy Minister of Finance Dr David Masondo, who also chairs the PIC board. Accompanied by senior PIC officials and the new chief executive, Patrick Dlamini, Masondo sought to clarify the PIC's position amid growing public concern and media attention. Masondo explained that the PIC had committed R1.7bn to Daybreak, with R250 million injected earlier this year and an additional R150m for operational expenses in February 2025, designed specifically to stave off liquidation. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ He emphasised that 'the PIC board does not intend to keep injecting funds indefinitely; the business must turn itself around to survive the crisis'. The message was firm: while the PIC remains a key investor, the responsibility to deliver a viable recovery rests with Daybreak's management and board. Acknowledging governance failings, Masondo outlined the troubles: 'A board was appointed in 2021 but resigned the same year in May. A new board came in November 2022. Allegations surfaced regarding irregularities in the recruitment of Daybreak's chief executive. Investigations found violations of PIC and Daybreak policies as well as general recruitment procedures.' He confirmed these findings had led to resignations: 'Most of the board members involved in the irregular recruitment process resigned. The board was subsequently strengthened with experienced members.' Daybreak Farms is under business rescue, with a practitioner appointed and a rescue plan expected by August 22. Masondo stressed that liquidation must be avoided: 'The board believed strongly that liquidation should be avoided due to the company's importance to the economy, food security, and job preservation.' He explained PIC's limited direct operational role: 'We do not run the businesses but appoint directors to boards when necessary to support turnaround efforts,' with appointments made under strict policy and approved by the PIC's Directors Affairs Committee, chaired by Masondo himself. Masondo framed the Daybreak issue within the PIC's wider mandate. The asset manager invests on behalf of the Government Employees Pension Fund (GEPF), Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), Compensation Fund (CF), and others, with a stated goal to protect and grow workers' retirement and social benefit funds. He highlighted the PIC's growth since 2021: 'Assets under management grew from R2.3 trillion in 2021 to R3trln in March 2025, a 30% increase. Over the past 10 years, growth has been at 68%.' Regarding unlisted investments, which include direct equity ownership in companies such as Daybreak, growth was modest at best: 'The value rose marginally from R125bn in 2021 to R127bn in 2025, just a 1.4% increase.' This was attributed to UIF and CF suspending mandates over earlier concerns. Masondo also reiterated the PIC's commitment to balancing financial return with social and environmental considerations. He said: 'Since the beginning of its unlisted investment programme, PIC has created over 190 000 jobs.' The PIC reported that it had shared with Scopa a list of the 20 best-performing companies and 20 that had failed, confirming that 'most of the failed investments, including Daybreak, were made before the current leadership'. The one exception cited was Enable Capital, another troubled investment attracting media scrutiny. Meanwhile, Scopa members did not let the PIC off lightly on pensioner concerns. One member queried the contradiction between the PIC's reported average annual return of 15.9% and the only 2.3% pension increase awarded this year, which was noticeably below inflation. The discrepancy raised questions about the flow-through of investment returns to pensioners. Other areas debated included: Proposals for incentives to boost infrastructure investment The imperative to balance financial and social returns The PIC's reported impact on job creation, empowerment, and governance Calls for greater transparency and accountability within PIC's operations. Masondo assured Committee members that all recommendations from the Mpati Commission investigation had been fully implemented by March 31 this year. This included wide-ranging governance reforms and the creation of an ethics office aimed at promoting ethical conduct and reducing risks. Addressing recent media reports, he revealed: 'A senior PIC employee was alleged to have solicited a bribe. This matter was reported via our whistleblowing platform. The individual has since been placed on precautionary suspension pending investigation.' He confirmed that 'appropriate action will be taken based on the outcome'. Get the real story on the go: Follow the Sunday Independent on WhatsApp.
Daily Maverick
14-07-2025
- Daily Maverick
After the Bell: The staggering size and stumbles of the colossal PIC
While so many of the Public Investment Corporation's investments are in listed entities and we can all see whether it's making good decisions, the problems come in with its unlisted investments where, perhaps, someone gets to play with a huge amount of money without a huge amount of attention. If it is true that compound interest is the 'eighth wonder of the world', then the Public Investment Corporation (PIC) must be its colossus. It is so staggeringly big that it almost defies comprehension. The PIC currently has more than R3-trillion in assets. And it controls about 10% of the JSE. The scale of it is so big that its investment decisions could not just make or break companies, they might even make or break entire industries in South Africa. It makes the proposed Transformation Fund that would invest R100-billion look like a tiddler by comparison. It is just that big. There are important reasons it got so big, but one of them must be its age. It was created in 1911. That's just one year after South Africa was formed as a nation state in a colonial project. Like Warren Buffett's investing career, the PIC is a really good example of how time in the market is such an important factor. At the same time, of course, as the number of government workers has increased (leading to many, many bitter fights), so has the money it has to manage. The Government Employees' Pension Fund is its main client – millions go from government employee salaries into the fund every month. Considering how much money we are talking about, it is quite strange that we don't talk about it more. One of the reasons for that is so many of its investments are in listed entities. Basically it is putting money into companies listed on the JSE. And that means we can all see whether or not it's making good decisions. This is a kind of forced transparency (in its 2024 annual financial statements it flags 'transparency' as its first pillar of governance'). And by and large, it works. The problems come in, obviously, in its unlisted investments. This is where it makes decisions that we cannot see so easily. And I suspect we are going to see a lot more attention on this soon. On Monday, News24 published an important story saying that the acting head of the manager's unlisted investments unit, Thabiso Moshikara, is being accused of trying to get a R3-million bribe from someone whose company is being funded by the PIC. The person making the claim, Ralebala Mampeule, even claims Moshikara came to his house with 'unidentified males'. This must have come as a huge shock to the PIC and they will now have to investigate thoroughly. The problem is that it could take quite a while to know for sure what happened. Unfortunately, we now live in a society where it's entirely possible that someone offered Moshikara money for his influence, and when he refused, decided to simply make something up to get rid of him. Or it could all be true. At the same time, the PIC has recently been under fire over the Daybreak Farms fiasco. There it was quite clear that some of the directors and managers were just extracting money from a failing enterprise. While workers were protesting because they had not been paid and chickens were suffering because they were not being fed, the chair, Bojane Segooa, hung on until the last minute. The moment she received a payment of R625,000, she resigned. Daybreak is wholly owned by the PIC. Sunday Times journalist Sabelo Skiti had been warning us for years and years that this would happen at Daybreak. And his reporting and warnings were ignored by the PIC. This has infuriated Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to the point where he has instituted an inquiry into the unlisted fund. I've never understood why an institution as massive as the PIC would not act when someone like Skiti reports on Daybreak in the way he did. It surely has the resources to monitor its unlisted investments. It is negligence that borders on the criminal to allow this to happen. I would think that its main customers, government workers, would be the first to shout and scream when this happens. It is their money that is going up in smoke. But they don't, because they're going to be fine. The pensions they receive are a defined benefit, meaning they'll receive the same amount of money no matter what happens to the PIC's investments. This is probably a very good thing. Workers should not suffer in their old age because, for example, Markus Jooste took everyone for a ride at Steinhoff. But it does mean that perhaps, just perhaps, someone gets to play with a huge amount of money without a huge amount of attention. It does look like the PIC is going to change slightly. There will probably be a new system to appoint its chair (since 2021, the law has been that the finance minister can appoint a deputy finance minister to the position of PIC chair). And I think there will be more demands for more transparency. We should all know how the PIC makes its decisions in the unlisted space. There are many advantages to being a colossus; you can take a lot of pain and keep trucking. But you are impossible to hide. And so we will always want to know what is going on behind the scenes. DM
