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Comms ministry details fiscal year’s audit outcomes

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer, ITWeb
Johannesburg, 05 Nov 2020
Communications and digital technologies minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams.
Communications and digital technologies minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams.

The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT), which is responsible for leading the country’s ICT agenda, achieved an unqualified audit.

The DCDT presented its audit outcomes for the 2019/20 financial year to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Communications on Wednesday, indicating it obtained an unqualified audit.

In a statement, the committee applauds the department for obtaining an unqualified audit outcome in the year under review, as well as the performance of two of entities, Sentech and .ZA Domain Name Authority (.ZADNA).

The oversight committee also encouraged state entities to trade with one another for the required goods and services in order to maximise economies of scale, adding that entities should learn best practices from one another with regard to prudent financial management systems and internal controls.

Committee chairperson Boyce Maneli said the achievements of Sentech and .ZADNA are a clear indication of the board playing its role and the executives doing their job in a complementary manner.

“Sentech’s revenue grew by 6%, and the entity achieved 100% of its predetermined objectives. ZADNA, on the other hand, reported a surplus of R2.534 million, while it achieved 82% of its planned targets.”

Even though he expressed appreciation for the unqualified audit, Maneli reiterated the DCDT needs to double its efforts in order to achieve a clean audit.

According to the auditor-general of SA (AGSA) in a clean audit outcome, the financial statements are free from material misstatements (in other words, a financially unqualified audit opinion) and there are no material findings on reporting on performance objectives or non-compliance with legislation.

In terms of a financially unqualified audit opinion, the financial statements contain no material misstatements. Unless AGSA expresses a clean audit outcome, findings have been raised on either reporting on predetermined objectives or non-compliance with legislation, or both these aspects.

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