By Bhekisisa Mncube
Durban - In a bold move and a first for a province in South Africa, the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government has invested R16 million over a four-year period towards the training of 100 Chartered Accountants in partnership with the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA), Finance MEC Ina Cronjé announced today.
The money was invested in SAICA’s Thuthuka Bursary Fund (TBF) that was formed in the year 2002 to tackle the urgent lack of African and coloured candidates being trained as Chartered Accountants.
Thuthuka is a Zulu word which means “to develop”. Through the TBF, previously disadvantaged students have been able to realise their dreams of stepping into the work of Chartered Accountancy.
Speaking to SAnews, Cronje said there were currently 27 students enrolled in the programme this year alone. “We are confident that within four years, we will reach the magic number of 100 CAs,” she said.
According to Cronje, the main objective of this initiative is to improve the financial management capacity at municipal level. She said upon completion of their tertiary studies, all candidates will be deployed to their respective municipal areas (from where they will have been recruited) to serve in financial management positions.
Speaking at the same media briefing, Auditor General Terence Nombembe said according to available statistics, there were only 33 000 CAs in South Africa. Only 2 700 are considered African. Of these, about 300 are working in the Auditor General’s Office.
Cronjé said the decision to invest in the Thuthuka Bursary Fund Programme was based on its consistently good performance over the years. The average pass rate over the years per year of study is as follows: 1st Year: 85%, 2nd Year: 75% and 3rd Year: 69%.
Senior Executive of SAICA Chantyl Mulder said the partnership discussion started sometime in 2012 when MEC Cronjé wanted to “grow her own timber” through the Thuthuka Bursary Fund Programme.
“We currently do not have any partnerships with provinces on skills development in the area of financial management. KwaZulu-Natal is the first one. Other provinces need to follow the example of KwaZulu-Natal if we are to address the skills shortage in our country,” she said.
In an interview with SAnews, one of the TBF beneficiaries, Nosipho Phakathi, said she was privileged to be part of the programme. “I am humbled and grateful to the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government for this bursary. To me, TBF is not about the money but a family,” Phakathi said.
She revealed that they receive continuous support from the fund through weekly life skills training and tutorials in all their subjects. Phakathi is currently enrolled as a first-year Bachelors of Accountancy student at the University of Johannesburg.
She hails from the northern KwaZulu-Natal town of Newcastle in eKhwezi township. She said the total money received for 2013 totals R 80 000. This money covers tuition, books, stationery, on-campus residence, meal allowance and other support through the TBF appointed facilitators and tutors. – SAnews.gov.za
