The PPECB is proud to have once again received a clean audit for the 2014/2015 financial period, a status the organisation has maintained for over 10 years.
Over the past decade the PPECB has successfully dealt with the deregulation of the South African fresh fruit export industry in 1997 that resulted in exponential growth in export volumes, activities and clients, as well as with the promulgation of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) in 1999 and Supply Chain Framework in 2003, while maintaining their clean audit status.
As presented in the PPECB’s recently published Annual Report the organisation has been found to comply with the PFMA and the relevant corporate governance provisions expected of it as a national public entity. Furthermore, despite a challenging year, the PPECB has remained financially stable and has successfully managed to reduce its budgeted financial loss for the third year in a row.
“The past year has been exceptionally challenging in terms of financial management due to the changes in the Citrus Black Spot inspection methods, the early and compressed table grape season, changes in procurement rules, as well as improvements in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure and applications. Despite all this and given that volumes were up, the organisation exceeded budgeted income with 1,4%, and budgeted expenditure with only 1%;” said Acting CEO, Cyril Julius in the Report.
“Receiving another clean audit is a true feather in PPECB’s cap,” said PPECB CFO, Johan Schwiebus. “At the PPECB our focus is to enhance the credibility and effectiveness of our services while ensuing delivery on our mandate and strategic objectives. This often requires extensive investment in both our people and our infrastructure. To ensure our staff are suitably qualified to deliver consistent quality inspections our inspectorate undergo continuous training and development. Furthermore, in order to ensure an efficient service we constantly look for innovative ways to improve how we perform our duties. Project Titan, our mobile technology initiative, is one such project which has required a significant financial investment in order for us to provide an efficient service to our clients. Receiving a clean audit is thus the direct result of an effective strategy supported by capacitated staff who have maintained a commitment to financial management and compliance to procedures.”
Going forward Schwiebus, stated that the “PPECB will continue to invest into its three strategic objectives, namely enhancing the credibility of the South African export certificate, supporting the export competitiveness of South Africa’s perishable products industries, and strengthening the PPECB’s capacity to provide a professional suite of services for its customers.
The PPECB expects a deficit in 2016, which reflects the costs that relate to the further deployment of mobile technology in the organisation and the upgrading of the ICT infrastructure to support the increased user base. Nevertheless, with the pressure of increases in statutory levies being felt, the containment of expenditure remains a high focus, with the PPECB constantly looking for opportunities to improve efficiencies without compromising on the quality of its service delivery programmes.”
To download the PPECB Annual Report 2014-2015 please click here.