NEMISA, FPB AND SENTECH SHINE WITH CLEAN AUDIT OPINIONS FOR 2022/23 FINANCIAL YEAR

Three entities of the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, namely the Films and Publications Board (FPB), NEMISA and SENTECH were the department’s stars in financial and non-financial performance in the 2022/23 financial year.

According to the Business Executive at the Auditor-General of South Africa (AG), Mr Andries Sekgetho, these entities received unqualified audit opinions with no findings in the year under review, in other words, clean audits.

Mr Sekgetho told members of the Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies yesterday that the entities produced credible and reliable financial statements that were free from material misstatements. ‘The auditees reported in a useful and reliable manner on performance as measured against predetermined objectives in their annual performance plans and they also complied with key legislation in conducting their day-to-day operations to achieve their mandates,’ he explained.

Reporting on both financial and non-financial perf
ormance to National Assembly (NA) portfolio committees via annual reports is in line with Section 55(a)(b) of the Constitution, which empowers the NA to hold accountable all executive organs of state in the national sphere of government.

There are 11 entities whose budgets are appropriated by the NA through budget vote 30 of the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT). They are: NEMISA, FPB, SENTECH, Broadband Infraco, the Independent Communication Authority of South Africa (ICASA), Universal Service Access Agency of South Africa (USAASA), State Information Technology Agency (SITA), Universal Service and Access Fund (USAF), South African Post Office (SAPO), Postbank and South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).

The DCDT, BBI, ICASA, USAASA also did well in their financial and non-financial performance in the year under review, receiving unqualified audit opinions with findings. According to Mr Sekgetho, these audit opinions imply that the auditees produced financial statements with
out material misstatements or could correct the material misstatements but struggled in one or more areas.

USAF and SITA did not fare so well, receiving qualified audit opinions with findings. This implies they had the same challenges as DCDT, BBI, ICASA and USAASA. They could not produce credible and reliable financial statements.

SAPO, Postbank and SABC, meanwhile, received disclaimer audit opinions with findings, implying that they had the same challenges as USAF and SITA. They could not provide the AG with evidence for most of the amounts and disclosures reported in their financial statements and, for this reason, the AG was unable to conclude or express an opinion on the credibility of their financial statements.

Members of the committee welcomed the three clean audits and urged other entities and the department to emulate the excellent work done by FPB, NEMISA and SENTECH

.Members also bid farewell to the CEO of SENTECH, Mr Mlamli Booi, who will be leaving the entity at the end of October. Mr Booi h
eld the position of CEO at SENTECH since 2015 when he was initially appointed on a five-year contract, which was later renewed to another three years in 2020. Under his stewardship, SENTECH received unqualified audit opinions for four consecutive years, including 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23 financial years.

Source: Parliament of South Africa