The Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality and Sport Sector Education and Training Authority (CATHSSETA) has been given a clean audit bill by the Auditor-General of South Africa.
This unprecedented achievement follows a turnaround strategy put in place by Mr Pumzile Kedama, who was appointed Administrator of CATHSSETA in October 2014.
Mr Kedama was appointed by the Minister of Higher Education and Training following a breakdown of governance structures at CATHSSETA, compromising the SETA’s ability to fulfil its mandate, which is to facilitate skills development in its sub-sectors through the disbursement of funding for training and development.
The turnaround strategy involved the tightening of operational processes to stem the financial bleed that had been taking place. The SETA also reviewed its contracts, renegotiating those that did not comply with its policies and regulations. This resulted in some contracts being terminated and led to significant cost savings.
Other measures that were put in place included ensuring that CATHSSETA was better able to meet its mandate by aligning the allocation of its bursaries to academic periods of institutions of higher learning, while also automating certain aspects of its operations to ensure accessibility, speed and more timely delivery of information.
CATHSSETA began to reap the rewards of this turnaround within five months of being placed under Administration, when it achieved an unqualified audit with matters of emphasis for the financial year ended 2015. CATHSSETA also improved operationally, with performance against set targets improving from a mere 34% in the 2013/14 financial year to 80% in the 2015/16 financial year. In terms of funding, CATHSSETA disbursed R45 919 000 in mandatory grants and R160 057 000 in discretionary funds. The latter benefited nearly 3 000 learners.
“I am pleased with the progress I have seen at CATHSSETA and am confident that the SETA will continue this path,” Mr Kedama says. “Restoring CATHSSETA back to stability was not an easy task, however, it was made easier by the support and co-operation of CATHSSETA staff,” he adds.
The new financial year at CATHSSETA saw the SETA decentralise its operations. The SETA has opened six new regional offices to ensure that it can provide a seamless and quality service to its stakeholders, particularly the outlying rural areas.
The regional offices are located in KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Gauteng, Free State and Limpopo. The Gauteng office will also service the North West, while the Free State office will also service the Northern Cape and the Limpopo office will service Mpumalanga.
“The regional offices will ensure that CATHSSETA has a footprint to empower stakeholders in all provinces,” Mr Kedama says.
This week, CATHSSETA will hold its first AGM under a clean audit. The meeting takes place on 20 October, 2016, at the Maslow Hotel in Sandton. More than 150 stakeholders are expected to attend the event, which, apart from outlining the SETA’s financial performance over the past year, will also unpack the turnaround strategy of CATHSSETA for its stakeholders.
For more information, please contact:
Ms Nosipho Damane
Manager: Communication and Stakeholder Management
011 217 0600
082 601 9824
poshy@cathsseta.org.za