South Africa: Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) tells Transnet to Stop Looting to Improve Business

The committee has decided to come to their offices and speak with the ordinary employees, particularly of the Finance, Internal Audit and Supply Chain Management sections who are doing the actual work

PRETORIA, South Africa, August 20, 2018,-/African Media Agency (AMA)/- The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) has told the Transnet Board and management to stop the looting because the business is able to sustain itself very well because it makes money due to it being a monopoly. The alleged corruption and looting of resources is what is impacting negatively on Transnet.

Scopa has also noted the breakdown in internal controls in the internal auditing and procurement departments. This has led to the qualified audit outcome that Transnet has received for the 2017/18 financial year. Scopa hopes that the internal audit department will be fully capacitated and strengthened in order to discharge its duties effectively. The same should be done for the supply chain management department, which performs one of the key components for the entity.

The committee has requested Transnet to give Scopa reports on internal audit reports that were changed or rejected by the previous internal audit committee. Scopa would like to check to see whether the members of that previous audit committee should not be blacklisted from holding non-executive positions in the public sector. Scopa has also requested reports on the forensic investigations that were commissioned by Transnet, Werksmans, Fundudzi and MNS and the status of the implementation of the recommendations in those reports.

Scopa wants to see Transnet improving from the current situation that it is in and that is why the committee has decided to come to their offices and speak with the ordinary employees, particularly of the Finance, Internal Audit and Supply Chain Management sections who are doing the actual work.

Scopa has noted the intention to suspend some members of Transnet management. The committee understands this to be in the context of the investigation reports that implicate certain individuals, including the ones who are meant to be suspended. The committee has called on the Board of Transnet to act on any implicated individuals without fear, favour or prejudice.

Distributed by African Media Agency(AMA) on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.