Pretoria - A three-year comparison into the SABC’s performance shows there has been a reduction in the number of qualifications, says the Department of Communications.
“In 2013/14, the SABC sat with seven issues that led to it being given a qualified audit – irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure; TV license and related incentives; taxation; property, plant and equipment and mobile income, among others.
“Those were reduced to three in the 2014/15 financial year, with findings on irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, TV license and taxation issues remaining unresolved.
“However, in the current year under review, the SABC is only left with one qualification – which is irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure,” said the department.
This improvement is as a result of Communications Minister Faith Muthambi setting up a Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) Forum.
The department recently briefed the Portfolio Committee on Communications on the annual report for the financial year 2015/16.
Parliament commended the department for how smoothly it has run in its first year of establishment and also for receiving an unqualified report within its first financial year of operation.
Going forward, the new department will be expected to continue to expand its capacity in order to ensure successful implementation of its mandate in line with the National Development Plan.
Communication within the department’s portfolio should become central to its operations so that the transformation agenda of the communications sector is accelerated especially to the rural communities who are always in need to be integrated into mainstream economy.
A vibrant communication environment will ensure broader economic, social and political participation of the entire South African citizenry.
The Department of Communications is responsible for overarching communications policy and strategy, information dissemination and publicity, and the branding of South Africa. – SAnews.gov.za
