Several Ministers have written to the National Assembly Speaker to inform her that State-Owned Entities (SOEs) falling under their departments are not able to submit their annual reports. The Public Finance Management Act requires that all SOEs submit audited annual reports to Parliament within six months after the end of the financial year.
However, Ministers Pravin Gordhan of Public Enterprises, Blade Nzimande of Higher Education and Gwede Mantashe of Mineral Resources and Energy have informed the Speaker that several entities will not submit their reports on time.
Minister Gordhan says the South African Airways Board has informed him that the newly appointed Interim Executives need more time to submit the required information for audit to the Auditor-General.
He says the SA Express Board, due to financial constraints, has also been unable to finalise its annual financial statements. Another entity that reports to him, Alexkor, is also experiencing severe financial problems and has not been able to finalise its annual report as well.
Minister Mantashe has reported that the Nuclear Energy Corporation will only be able to submit its annual report by the 31 October.
Minister Nzimande says that the Auditor-General has not finalised the audit of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme because of a material issue which requires further analysis and evaluation.
