Transnet appoints BEE auditors

Johannesburg - State-owned enterprise Transnet has appointed SizweNtsalubaGobodo as its external auditor, Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba said on Monday.

“This is a sector that is struggling fully to transform... Today's announcement is a contribution towards changing the landscape of this industry,” Gigaba told reporters in Johannesburg.

The audit firm has been appointed for five years at a cost of about R70m a year.

Gigaba said the transformation of the accounting industry remained a “sore point in our democracy and society at large”.

The sector was still dominated by white South Africans at 89%, while black Africans represented only around 3%.

The minister said he had asked the boards of all state-owned enterprises to review their transformation progress.

Where it was time to rotate suppliers, their choice of a new incumbent should be determined by the empowerment agenda, he said.

Chairperson of Transnet's audit committee Peter Moyo said SizweNtsalubaGobodo had undergone a rigorous process before being appointed.

“When appointing black people there is the question around compromise,” he said.

Transnet went through a rigorous and thorough appointment process.

“We looked at the independence of people, their ability to do the work, the price and their transformation credentials.

“SizweNtsalubaGobodo competed against very established firms… and met all our criteria without any compromise,” Moyo said.

“Transformation is not equal to lowering standards,” he said.

SizweNtsalubaGobodo would provide a team of 150 people to the Transnet project.

Gigaba said the appointment of SizweNtsalubaGobodo took place at a critical time, as Transnet is rolling out a R300bn infrastructure programme over the next seven years.