Cash-strapped NBC cleans house
Namibian Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) director-general Stanley Similo has taken issue with an adverse audit opinion from the Office of the Auditor-General for the 2017 financial year.
Responding to questions from the parliamentary standing committee on public accounts last Thursday, Similo said the cash-strapped broadcaster is experiencing growth, despite the fact that the market is not responding favourably.
He said the recently gazetted reclassification of the NBC from a commercial to non-commercial public entity will put pressure on its sole shareholder (government) to sufficiently finance it.
NBC's budget was slashed by N$100 million, which Similo said had an impact on its cash flow and caused the broadcaster to have a post-retirement medical aid benefit and severance pay liability of N$313.2 million and N$4 million respectively.
The audit report at the time pointed out there were no specific assets set aside by the NBC to fund these liabilities. Similo said the broadcaster is now up-to-date with settling the medical aid and pension liabilities.
He said despite these difficulties, there was never a situation where people did not have medical or pension cover.
Chief financial officer Vezenga Kauraisa said the NBC continues to have liquidity challenges, adding the broadcaster in better years was given “three bullets to kill three kudus; now it is given one bullet to kill three kudus”.
The NBC officials quoted Mike Kavekotora, chairperson of the parliamentary committee, who had earlier in parliament commented that the NBC is “not overstaffed, but underfunded”.
Cleaning up
Similo said the corporation has “cleaned up” all items which formed the basis of the adverse audit opinion, and would provide proof of this to the parliamentary committee.
These items included the incompleteness of the income from television licenses.
Similo criticised a “blanket statement” in the audit report which stated that “some” contracts for transmittal rental agreements were not in place.
Other items included an unreconciled income tax balance of over N$6 million, undeclared sales worth more than N$60 million to the tax directorate and unknown deposits of N$693 602, which Similo stressed could not be viewed as fraud since the money flowed into NBC accounts, and negative debtors of N$4 million.
The audit further includes an unexplained provision of a financial clean-up account amounting to over N$64 million, an understatement of depreciation by N$3.3 million, and the understatement of an accumulated loss as a result of an adjustment to depreciation of N$37 million.
CATHERINE SASMAN
Responding to questions from the parliamentary standing committee on public accounts last Thursday, Similo said the cash-strapped broadcaster is experiencing growth, despite the fact that the market is not responding favourably.
He said the recently gazetted reclassification of the NBC from a commercial to non-commercial public entity will put pressure on its sole shareholder (government) to sufficiently finance it.
NBC's budget was slashed by N$100 million, which Similo said had an impact on its cash flow and caused the broadcaster to have a post-retirement medical aid benefit and severance pay liability of N$313.2 million and N$4 million respectively.
The audit report at the time pointed out there were no specific assets set aside by the NBC to fund these liabilities. Similo said the broadcaster is now up-to-date with settling the medical aid and pension liabilities.
He said despite these difficulties, there was never a situation where people did not have medical or pension cover.
Chief financial officer Vezenga Kauraisa said the NBC continues to have liquidity challenges, adding the broadcaster in better years was given “three bullets to kill three kudus; now it is given one bullet to kill three kudus”.
The NBC officials quoted Mike Kavekotora, chairperson of the parliamentary committee, who had earlier in parliament commented that the NBC is “not overstaffed, but underfunded”.
Cleaning up
Similo said the corporation has “cleaned up” all items which formed the basis of the adverse audit opinion, and would provide proof of this to the parliamentary committee.
These items included the incompleteness of the income from television licenses.
Similo criticised a “blanket statement” in the audit report which stated that “some” contracts for transmittal rental agreements were not in place.
Other items included an unreconciled income tax balance of over N$6 million, undeclared sales worth more than N$60 million to the tax directorate and unknown deposits of N$693 602, which Similo stressed could not be viewed as fraud since the money flowed into NBC accounts, and negative debtors of N$4 million.
The audit further includes an unexplained provision of a financial clean-up account amounting to over N$64 million, an understatement of depreciation by N$3.3 million, and the understatement of an accumulated loss as a result of an adjustment to depreciation of N$37 million.
CATHERINE SASMAN
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