Methodology, Sources and Acknowledgements
We have taken care to collect, capture and cross-reference the information on this website 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 It is inevitable that some of the information will be incorrect at source or become outdated after publication. We, therefore, take no responsibility for the accuracy of the information on this website. Where practical we reference and link to the original source reports.
If you notice any errors or omissions, contact us so that we may correct them.
Structure and Organisation of Departments and Entities
The website is organised in a hierarchical manner. Departments and other public (state-owned) entities are listed primarily according to reporting structure.
At the first level, all departments and entities are arranged by government cluster. Ministerial clusters are intended to improve coordination within government. The ministerial clusters contain significant overlap of departments (i.e. many ministers/departments belong to more than one cluster), which does not offer a convenient way of organising the website. Therefore we generally follow the naming and organisation of clusters as contained in the Consolidated Financial Statements - Annual Financial Statements published by the National Treasury each year. The relevant clusters are:
- Central Government Administration
- Justice and Protection Services
- Finance and Administration Services
- Economic Services and Infrastructure Development
- Social Services.
Within clusters, departments are organised alphabetically, each followed by any departments and entities reporting to that department (also in hierarchical and alphabetical order).
The website also offers a comprehensive search function allowing you to search for any department or entity name, government official or any other text.
Overview and Management Information
Contact details, overviews and particulars of office bearers are updated primarily from the department's or entity's own websites and public documents, and followed up via an annual survey that we conduct with all departments and public entities. The survey takes place from March to June each year. The information should be considered most up-to-date following 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 news reports and other credible sources.
Public Entities / State-Owned Entities
The list of public entities on the website is not necessarily complete. The 2013 report of the Presidential Review Committee on State-Owned 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
The information regarding audit outcomes is primarily sourced from the Consolidated general report on national and provincial audit outcomes, PFMA, published annually by the Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA) - specifically Annexures 1 and 3. The reports are available at https://www.agsa.co.za/Reporting/PFMAReports/PFMAgeneralreports-national.aspx.
This information may be subsequently updated from these sources:
- Later PFMA reports that update previous years' values
- The department's or entity's audit report (used primarily to supplement "Audit not finalised" outcomes).
Where the last available PFMA outcome is "Audit not finalised at legislated date" and this pertains to years preceding the last year, we may show 'n/a' to indicate that the audit may have been completed since the PFMA report, but the outcome is unknown to us.
The terminology used is described by AGSA as follows:
Financial Information
Financial information is sourced from the annual reports of the departments and entities. Links to the full annual reports are provided. When referencing the financial information:
- All financial values are indicated in the thousands, indicated by "R'000".
- Zero values are displayed 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 to our model or we have left the values as "n/a". It is recommended that you refer to the original annual reports where required.
Unauthorised, Irregular, Fruitless and Wasteful Expenditure
The figures for Unauthorised, Irregular, Fruitless and Wasteful (UIF&W) Expenditure are supplied to us by the Auditor-General South Africa (AGSA). If the figures are unavailable in this report, they may be sourced from the annual reports of the department or entity.
The terminology is described by AGSA as follows:
Unauthorised Expenditure: Expenditure that was in excess of the amount budgeted or allocated by government to the auditee, or that was not incurred in accordance with the purpose for which it was intended.
Irregular Expenditure: Expenditure incurred without complying with applicable legislation.
Fruitless and wasteful expenditure: Expenditure that was made in vain and could have been avoided had reasonable care been exercised. This includes penalties and interest on late payments, as well as payments for services not utilised or goods not received.
Photographs of Office Bearers
Photographs of office bearers have either been supplied to us by the department or public entity concerned, or sourced from their official websites or annual reports.