Teta chairman speaks out on recovery of ‘lost’ funds

WHILE PRESS sources in
the Transport Education and
Training Authority (Teta)
seemed to have indicated that
the authority’s R251.8-million
investment in Fidentia had
been written off, chairman
June Dube – although he
admitted the investment had
been “a debacle” – is confident
that every effort is still being
made to recover some of the
lost monies.
In his annual report to
parliament, Dube said: “Teta
is working closely with all
relevant authorities to resolve
uncertainties and to try and
recover as much funds as
possible from the investments
made in Fidentia.”
These parties include
the auditor-general (who
conducted the statutory
external audit); forensic
auditors, KPMG; Cliffe Dekker
Attorneys (who are dealing
with the curators); the
department of labour and the
national treasury.
“The recovery of the
R251.8-m is now in the hands
of the curators and legal
representatives,” said Dube.
But there are still bucks in
the bank, and Teta’s financial
statements show it will be able
to meet all its commitments
for this financial year, in
spite of the capital amount
lost through the Fidentia
investment.
“Teta is currently in
a position to honour all
discretionary (inclusive of
2006-2007), small and
medium sized entities
(SMMEs), and project contracts
that were entered into up to
the end of the financial year
under review,” Dube said. “Teta
will also meet its SLA targets
for the 2007/08 financial year.”
One area that might have
caused concern during the
year was a reduction in the
number of active levy-paying
companies. Because the
minister of finance allowed
certain exemptions, Teta “lost”
3 956 SMMEs as levy payers.
“However,” said Dube,
“this has not had much of a
financial impact on funds.
“Income from levies
amounted to R239.8-m for
the 2006 financial year. This
represents an increase of R14.1
million from the previous
year’s R225.7-m.
“Teta currently has
R157-m committed to active
discretionary grants with a
further R61-m for mandatory
and R28-m for SMME and
special projects.”