METHODOLOGY, SOURCES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We have taken care to collect, capture and cross-reference the information in the Handbook as accurately as possible. It should, however, be recognised that some types of information listed change frequently. It is inevitable that some of the information will be incorrect at source or become outdated during and after publication. We, therefore, take no legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information in the Handbook.

The Handbook is the sister-publication of the website –nationalgovernment.co.za. The website displays more extensive information than the Handbook, and is updated throughout the year. Where practical, the website references and links to original source reports. If you notice any errors or omissions, contact us at info@nationalgovernment.co.za so that we may correct the website and future editions of the Handbook.

The Handbook is structured hierarchically. Departments and public (state-owned) entities are listed primarily according to reporting structure.

At the first level, all departments and public entities are arranged by government ‘cluster’. We have generally followed the naming and organisation of clusters as contained in the Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2022 (ISBN: 978-0-621-50797-3) published by the National Treasury.

The clusters are:

• Central Government Administration

• Justice and Protection Services

• Financial and Administration Services

• Economic Services and Infrastructure Development

• Social Services.

Within clusters, departments are organised alphabetically, followed by the public entities that report to them. A full index of departments and public entities is provided on the inside back cover.

After the 2019 General Government Elections, various national departments were consolidated and reorganised under new names and ministries. Financial records and results for the new departments are only available from the 2020/21 year. Refer to the website for financial results of the historical departments.

Contact details, overviews and particulars of office bearers are updated primarily via an annual survey that we conduct with all departments and public entities. The latest survey took place from February 2023 to May 2023. The information should be considered up to date during this period.

While we go to great effort to gather complete and accurate information, some departments and public entities are more responsive than others. Where possible, we cross-reference against their website and annual reports, as well as news reports and other credible sources.

The list of public entities in the Handbook is not necessarily complete. The 2013 report of the Presidential Review Committee on StateOwned Entities noted that, after a two-year macro-review of all public entities in South Africa, the Committee was unable to produce an exhaustive list of public entities, especially at the provincial and municipal level. We endeavour to include all that are relevant, focusing on those that are clearly operational, with available documentation and audit results.

Audit outcomes are sourced from the Consolidated general report on national and provincial audit outcomes, PFMA, published annually by the Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA). The full reports are available from AGSA’s offices or at agsa.co.za.

The terminology used is described by AGSA as follows:

Clean audit outcome: The financial statements are free from material misstatements (in other words, a financially unqualified audit opinion) and there are no material findings on reporting on performance objectives or non-compliance with legislation.

Financially unqualified with findings: The financial statements contain no material misstatements. Unless the Auditor-General expresses a clean audit outcome, findings have been raised on either reporting on predetermined objectives or non-compliance with legislation, or both these aspects.

Qualified audit opinion: The financial statements contain material misstatements in specific amounts, or there is insufficient evidence for the Auditor-General to conclude that specific amounts included in the financial statements are not materially misstated.

Adverse audit opinion: The financial statements contain material misstatements that are not confined to specific amounts, or the misstatements represent a substantial portion of the financial statements.

Disclaimer of audit opinion: The auditee provided insufficient evidence in the form of documentation on which to base an audit opinion. The lack of sufficient evidence is not confined to specific amounts, or represents a substantial portion of the information contained in the financial statements.

Financial information is sourced from the annual reports of the departments and public entities. Links to the full annual reports are available on our website – nationalgovernment.co.za. When referencing, take note of the following:

• All financial values are in thousands, indicated by ‘R’000’.

• Zero values are indicated as ‘–’.

• Values displayed as ‘n/a’ indicate the value was not available to us, or is not applicable.

In some instances, the annual reports do not match the standardised format we use to display information. In these cases we have either adapted the information or left the values as ‘n/a’. Refer to the annual reports where required.

Photographs of office bearers have either been supplied by the departments or public entities, or sourced from their website or annual reports, or sourced from the Government Information and Communication System (GCIS).