AG qualifies Prasa’s late financial statements for R20.3bn in irregular spending
The auditor-general said there was ‘significant doubt’ about the corruption-plagued rail operation’s ability to continue as a going concern
The auditor-general (AG) has qualified the financial statements of the corruption-plagued Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) for 2016-17. The statements were tabled in parliament on Monday, a year after their due date. The qualification related to the accounting for irregular expenditure, which amounted to R20.3bn for the year, R5bn higher than the previous year’s figure of R15.3bn. The AG said there was “significant doubt” about Prasa’s ability to continue as a going concern because while its assets of R13.5bn exceeded its liabilities of R10.2bn by R3.3bn, the majority of cash reserves were committed for capital expenditure. Operating expenses The agency made a loss of R928m in 2016-17 on revenue of R2.9bn compared with the 2015-16 loss of R554m on revenue of R3.3bn. Operating expenses over the year climbed by more than R1bn from R9.2bn to R10.6bn. Adding to its revenue were an operational subsidy of R5bn and other sources of income of R3.4bn. The financial statements were qualifi...
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