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 achievement follows a turnaround strategy put in place by Pumzile Kedama who was appointed administrator of Cathsseta in 2014.
The strategy involved the tightening of operational processes in stemming the tide of financial bleeding. Cathsseta 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. The authority also improved operationally, with performances against set targets improving from 34 per cent in the 2013/14 financial year to 80 per cent 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 pupils.
“I am pleased with the progress I have seen at Cathsseta and am confident that [it] will continue this path,” said Kedama. “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 added.
The new financial year saw the Cathsseta decentralise its operations. It 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 will ensure that Cathsseta has a footprint to empower stakeholders in all provinces,” said Kedama.
