Parliament, Thursday, 17 October 2024—The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education is disappointed that, once again, the National Skills Fund (NSF) has obtained a third consecutive audit qualification from the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA). The NSF briefed the committee on its Annual Report for the 2023/24 financial year and the entity's irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure.
During its briefing to the committee, the NSF painted a stark picture of an organisation grappling with capacity constraints, including insufficient audit evidence to account for skills development funding for current and previous years. The NSF informed the committee that it was taking corrective actions, such as expediting the appointment of personnel to critical posts.
However, the committee reminded the NSF that critical posts have not been filled since the 2021/22 financial year. The committee remains unconvinced that consequence management against non-compliance with regulations related to misstatements on the financial statements and expenditure management was effectively meted out.
The committee recommended that senior officials who did not perform their duties responsibly at the entity be charged and disciplinary proceedings started. The committee Chairperson, Mr Tebogo Letsie, said, “The Minister of Higher Education and Training must charge all officials who misled her about the true number of vacant posts at NSF.”
The committee further called for fully implementing the Ministerial Task Team report recommendations, finalised in 2022/23. The report called for strengthening governance arrangements and new operating business models at NSF.
The committee also considered the Annual Reports 2023/24 of the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and Safety and Security SETA (SASSETA). Both obtained clean audits, a trend over the past audit cycles. It is evident that these entities have sound financial management systems and solid internal control environments.
Despite small budgets, SAQA and SASSETA achieved 97% and 100% of the annual performance targets, respectively. The committee implored the Minister to use these entities as the model for benchmarking best practices within the Post-School Education and Training sector.
ISSUED BY THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMUNICATION SERVICES ON BEHALF OF THE CHAIRPERSON OF THE PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON HIGHER EDUCATION, MR TEBOGO LETSIE.
For media enquiries please contact the committee’s Media Officer:
Name: Jabulani Majozi (Mr)
Parliamentary Communication Services
Cell: 083 358 5224
E-mail: jamajozi@parliament.gov.za
Arrange a tour