Cape Town, 19 May 2008
The Universal Services and Access Agency of SA (USAASA) has suspended its chief financial officer, on allegations of not following government accounting procedures.
However, chairperson Cassandra Gabriel assures that no fraud is suspected.
CFO Keith Keyes has been suspended with immediate effect, until an investigation by the audit committee is completed.
Gabriel says this investigation should be completed within two weeks.
"We don't suspect corruption, or any actual misappropriation of funds. What we think is that it applies to procedure not having been followed properly as far as the PFMA is concerned," she says.
The PFMA (Public Finance Management Act) is considered by many in government to be a notorious piece of legislation. Accounting officers and others deemed responsible for handling public monies can be held criminally liable for not following strict procedural guidelines, which does not necessarily mean corruption or misappropriation of funds.
The CEO of an organisation is termed by the PFMA to be the accounting officer, in this case James Theledi, who has been with the agency for about 11 months.
Gabriel refused to comment if Theledi could also face some sort of sanction.
The issue comes at a sensitive period for the agency, which is government's point organisation charged with bridging the digital divide through promoting and facilitating affordable access.
USAASA is reorganising and adjusting so it can gear itself up to use the more than R800 million in the Universal Services and Access Fund (USAF). These funds have been collected from the incumbent telecommunications operators' licence obligations.
As part of the agency's turnaround strategy presented to Parliament earlier this year, it said it should be empowered to deliver on requirements placed on it by the Electronic Communications Act. It said it would engage with the National Treasury and the Department of Communications on expanding its resources.
This strategy would also see USAASA become completely responsible for the collection and the accounting of the USAF.
"The board takes issues of corporate governance, and in particular the PFMA, very seriously. Policies and procedures have been put into place at the agency for compliance with legislation relating to financial matters and financial management," Gabriel says.
She also says appropriate disciplinary measures will be taken against any transgressors.
"It is very unfortunate that these policies have been flouted, but action will be taken and this will not deter us from achieving our objectives."
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