Managers at Rand Mutual Assurance (RMA) have told shareholders about misconduct claims involving some board members, Moneyweb reported. The claims centre on the hiring of an asset consultant linked to an estimated R32 billion in assets.
RMA runs workers’ compensation for employees in the mining, iron, metal and steel industries. Management set out its concerns in a 37-page shareholder document dated 15 October 2026, which Moneyweb saw.
Management said it had tried without success to resolve the issues. “In our opinion the attempts were unsuccessful due to the behaviour of the board,” management told shareholders.
The dispute goes back to July 2024, when RMA asked for proposals to replace Willis Towers Watson. That firm had been RMA’s asset consultant since around July 2016.
Four providers were shortlisted: Alexander Forbes, 27four, Selekane and Novare. Moneyweb said that process is understood to have ended without an award. A second process began in August 2025.
In November 2025, the investment committee received a recommendation to keep Willis Towers Watson for another year. It also recommended 27four as provider of private markets advisory services.
Before this was put in place, RMA received an anonymous whistleblower report about the process. The report pointed to conflicts of interest, according to the shareholder document.
An independent review followed. “The review found material governance and procedural deficiencies across all three phases,” management said in a summary of that report.
In February 2026, RMA instructed law firm ENS to investigate. ENS was asked to check for conflicts of interest and for links between staff and bidders. It was also asked whether the process was manipulated to favour 27four.
Management told shareholders that the board later instructed ENS to stop sharing information with management. Management said it was told it could not receive the final report at this stage.
Moneyweb said it saw the findings of the draft ENS report. The report said one investment executive joined the meetings from 3 October 2024. That was about four weeks before the executive’s 27four investment committee membership ended on 31 October 2024.
Moneyweb withheld the executive’s name pending further investigations. It said the same executive has been linked to at least one RMA board member.
ENS made nine findings, according to Moneyweb. “The process was not conducted in a fair, transparent, or procedurally sound manner,” ENS said. It also said the recommendation to give the private assets mandate to 27four did not appear justified on the merits.
ENS recommended several internal probes. It said RMA should consider whether disciplinary action was warranted against the investment executives named in the report. It also said RMA should consider whether senior board members had breached their fiduciary duty.
Moneyweb said it understands the board has not fully considered the report, so the recommendations have not been carried out.
RMA non-executive director Tjaart Esterhuyse responded in a written statement mandated by the board. “Rand Mutual Assurance takes allegations of misconduct and concerns relating to corporate governance extremely seriously,” he said.
Esterhuyse confirmed that RMA received a whistleblower report and said it was being handled under company policies. He said it would be inappropriate to comment on specific allegations, individuals or potential findings at this stage.
Moneyweb said it sent the board 12 questions. The board’s statement did not say who the current asset consultant is, or whether the ENS report will be adopted or challenged.
Source: this article is based on reporting by Moneyweb. Image: Moneyweb. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Business desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Anelisa Nkuna covers business and money news for Tzaneen Voice. Anelisa reports on the rand, fuel prices, interest rates, jobs, Eskom, Transnet, farming and company results. The aim is simple: explain what the numbers mean for household budgets, small businesses and workers in South Africa.