Subscribe

Auditor-general cites poor performance at USAASA

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 24 Oct 2016
USAASA is determined to achieve a clean audit for the 2016/17 financial year, says CEO Lumko Mtimde.
USAASA is determined to achieve a clean audit for the 2016/17 financial year, says CEO Lumko Mtimde.

The Universal Service and Access Agency of SA (USAASA) and the Universal Service and Access Fund (USAF) received unqualified audit reports from the auditor-general of SA (AGSA) for the 2015 /2016 financial year.

USAASA tabled its annual reports for the 2015/2016 financial year to the portfolio committee on telecommunications and postal services in Parliament last week.

The agency is a state-owned entity established through the Electronic Communications Act. Its mandate is to ensure universal access to ICT. It is also in charge of overseeing SA's multibillion-rand digital TV set-top box rollout.

The agency previously came under fire for failing to deliver, abuse of funds, low staff morale and high CEO churn, among other issues.

Among concerns raised by the AGSA was USAASA's regression, lack of internal controls and poor performance for the year, reflecting only 50% of the annual performance report.

Going forward, USAASA says it will focus on addressing challenges related to the non-achievement of its annual performance plan targets and strengthening its internal controls to enhance policy and regulatory compliance in accordance with good governance practices.

Key priority areas are to include tracking implementation of the USAASA and USAF 2015/16 AGSA audit action plans with the aim of steering the agency and the fund towards the achievement of clean audits, it says.

"As a team, we remain steadfast in our determination towards the achievement of a clean audit for the 2016/17 financial year while pursuing our goal of universal access and service to ICTs for all South African citizens," says Lumko Mtimde, USAASA CEO.

Share