As the struggling SABC - for years mired in financial mismanagement, corruption, allegations of corruption, top management feuds and vicious executive infighting - presented its latest annual financial report for 2012/2013 in parliament today, the SABC is blatantly still awash in irregular expenditure and plagued by dismal performance as a public institution.
The SABC's latest financial report for 2012/2013 received a Disclaimer of Opinion from the auditor general - even worse than the previous year of 2011/2012 already atrociously bad "Qualified Audit" stamp.
During the SABC's financial year of 2012/2013 the entire SABC board were wiped away after mass resignations following massive ugly infighting which spilled out into the public arena, after which an interim SABC board was appointed.
Lulama Mokhobo is currently the CEO of the beleaguered SABC, with the famously matricless Hlaudi Motsoeneng as the acting chief operating officer (COO). He was relieved of this position by the now-gone SABC board but never left his office.
It's now clear that under the so-called "leadership" of Lulama Mokhobo and Hlaudi Motsoeneng the SABC has gone from bad to even worse. The auditor general said the SABC's submitted financial statements didn't adhere to reporting standards. The AG said the SABC's latest financial statements didn't adhere to the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) or even the Companies Act.
The SABC's 2012/2013 annual financial report tabled in parliament today is so bad that it prompted the worst audit opinion possible from the AG which reported R106,3 million in irregular expenditure.
The SABC cannot give account of what happened to a staggering R913 million which was collected in TV license fees.
The SABC's latest annual financial report for 2012/2013 received a Disclaimer of Opinion from the AG - issued when the financials of an institution is such a mess that the auditor general is unable and unwilling to form an opinion on the institution's financial statements.
Auditor general Terence Nombembe said the financial mismanagement at the SABC is such that the SABC spent over R1,5 BILLION for which the beleaguered SABC is unable to and cannot provide any corresponding documentation for what the money was used for.
"I was unable to obtain sufficient, appropriate audit evidence for journals processed to broadcasting cost, signal distribution and linking cost, marketing cost, professional and consultancy fees and other expenditure ... which, in total amount to R1 588 929 000, as supporting documentation could not be provided," said Terence Nombembe.
The SABC also missed the targets which it is supposed to attain according to the government guarantee for which the SABC, just before it financially imploded, received a government guaranteed bail-out in the form of a Nedbank loan of R1,4 billion.
The SABC's financial report for 2012/2013 indicated that the SABC didn't make its sponsorship target (50% below what it's supposed to be), didn't make it sale content (66% lower than what it's supposed to be), and even saw a drop in advertising revenue (4% or R190 million) below the set target.
Late on Tuesday the SABC suddenly called a press conference for Wednesday afternoon at the SABC's Auckland Park headquarters over the latest financial report but suddenly cancelled the press conference on Wednesday morning without giving reasons.
Yunus Carrim, the minister of communications says in a statement the government "raised concerns over the SABC's financial performance at the recent annual general meeting and has instituted a joint task team made up of representatives of the department of communications, national treasury, the auditor general's office and the SABC to consider the long-term financial sustainability of the public broadcaster".
