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.