The PPECB’s Executive Management team is listed below:

• Chief Executive Officer: Mr LP Jansen;
• Chief Financial Officer: Mr JA Schwiebus;
• Chief Operations Officer: Mr CA Julius;
• Chief Information Officer: Ms Y Ramiah; and
• Human Capital Executive: Ms PS Luwaca.

There were no changes in the PPECB’s Executive Management during the year under review.

The constitution of the Board is prescribed by the PPEC Act which requires that nine (9) and a maximum of ten (10) members be appointed by the Executive Authority. At the date of this report, there were ten (10) members, all of whom are non-executive members.

NAME	INDUSTRY	RESIGNATION DATE
Mr W Bam**	Table grapes
Mr I Beukes*	Citrus
Mr M Brinkhuis*	Pome and stone
Mr D Donkin*	Subtropical
Ms M Kotze**	Pome and stone
Mr B Mavume*	Marine
Ms B Njobe*	Ministerial representative
Dr CC Nkuna**	Organised agriculture
Ms J Atwood-Palm*	Processed foods
Ms P Tlomatsane*	Citrus
Mr CG Garrett	Subtropical	31 January 2023
Mr KB Katoo	Citrus	31 January 2023
Mr AJ Kruger	Pome and stone	31 January 2023
Mr RM Ramasodi	Ministerial representative	31 January 2023
Ms KM Sinclair	Marine	31 January 2023
Ms M Slabber	Citrus	31 January 2023
Dr M Van Eeden	Processed foods	31 January 2023

The Board meets at least four (4) times per annum, or as circumstances necessitate. Board meetings follow a formal agenda to ensure that all substantive matters are addressed and information relevant to the meetings is supplied to Board members in advance so that they can make informed and reasoned decisions.

All documents submitted to the Board are reviewed by the PPECB Executive Management Committee (EXCO) and approved by the Chief Executive Officer to ensure completeness and relevance.

None of the members of the Board had any interest in contracts entered into during the year under review.

The PPECB is self-funded by charging statutory fees (levies) to recover costs for services rendered. The PPECB made a net surplus of R12.5 million (2022: R35.4 million) for the year ended 31 March 2023. The financial statements provide further details regarding financial performance.

The Board confirms that they are responsible for preparing the annual financial statements that fairly present the state of affairs of the PPECB as at the end of the financial year. The annual financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Standards of Generally Recognised Accounting Practice (GRAP) and the requirements of the PFMA.

They are based on appropriate accounting policies and are supported by reasonable and prudent judgments and estimates. The external auditors are responsible for carrying out an independent examination of the financial statements in accordance with International Standards of Auditing and for reporting any findings thereon.

The annual financial statements have been prepared on the basis of accounting policies applicable to a going concern. This basis presumes that funds will be available to finance future operations and that the realisation of assets and settlement of liabilities, contingent obligations and commitments will occur in the ordinary course of business.

The Board reviewed and approved the PPECB’s financial budgets for the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 and is satisfied that adequate resources exist to continue business for the foreseeable future. The Board confirms that there is no reason to believe that the PPECB’s operations will not continue as a going concern in the year ahead.

The continued power cuts had a significant impact on the PPECB and the sector as a whole. The escalation of power cuts during the peak of the grape harvesting season affected the cooling cycles, resulting in irregular loading patterns. This necessitated the PPECB to commit additional resources to ensure the functioning of the logistical chain. The power cuts further required investment in infrastructure to ensure the increase in the uptime of critical digital platforms and systems. Uninterrupted Power Supplies (UPS) units were procured for regional offices to ensure continued delivery of services.

Statutory operations
The power outages impacted inspections and cold chain certification processes. Despite some of the regional offices having generators, downtime was experienced in terms of printers and access to systems whilst reboot and reset processes were initiated. Some computer equipment was damaged due to loadshedding, and printers reported as nonoperational for extended periods due to non-availability of spares. Batteries of laptops, tablets and UPS units were unable to recharge adequately when power loadshedding was experienced for extended periods of time.

Client concerns of a backlog of export and pre-cooling certificates were reported. Employees worked overtime to ensure timelines and service level agreements with the industry were met. From a TITAN 2.0® perspective, clients were unable to send inspection messages, receive inspection results or refresh agreement codes during loadshedding. The unavailability of WIFI at packhouses during loadshedding resulted in inspectors being unable to log into the system, receive or post inspection results. The PPECB Laboratory was not impacted significantly during the year under review due to the Laboratory building being on the electrical line between the Gautrain station and Unitas Hospital, which does not experience loadshedding. The building also has a back-up generator which supplies power in the event of a general power failure. All major Laboratory equipment is connected to a UPS unit offering protection from power surges.

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure
The UPS units’ main requirements are to protect the PPECB switches, routers and servers during loadshedding and to provide the sites with uninterrupted connectivity. The initial specification accounted for connectivity of two and a half hours during loadshedding. Now, these UPS units are only able to provide an average of forty-five minutes of connectivity due to the increased cycles during the higher levels of loadshedding experienced. The adverse impact of this is that the regional offices become reliant on Access Point Name (APN) sim cards for business continuity. This, in turn, increases overall spend via the Software-defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) contract for data services. The adverse risk of power instability also results in peripheral failures on printers. The service provider raised concerns about the possibility of repair costs being passed onto the PPECB in future. The overall infrastructure at each regional office is exposed to power surges and may result in equipment failure and business continuity challenges.

Human capital
Training initiatives were impacted as employees had to attend training at locations with generators to ensure uninterrupted training but also consider space capacity and travel logistics to these locations. Frustration and anxiety were experienced but managed through the PPECB’s appointed employee wellness partner. Recruitment processes posed challenges with the coordination of interviews. Travelling time to offices and to clients was longer and employees at times needed to work overtime or experienced unproductive time, which affected work-life balance.

Finance
The procurement of energy generation equipment (twelve UPS units) was at a cost of R634,686, inclusive of VAT. The 105 KVA diesel generator at Head Office resulted in a spend of R210,000 for diesel, repairs and maintenance. The PPECB will continue with efforts to reduce power usage and consider alternatives, such as renewable energy, whilst maintaining a high level of service delivery.

The corporate strategic plan is approved by the Board and Executive Authority and contains predetermined strategic and operational objectives. The plan, together with associated budgets, is approved at the beginning of the financial year in compliance with the provisions of the PFMA.

The PPECB has analysed the environment within which it operates and has identified, as some of its biggest challenges, the cost of doing business, financial performance of the Laboratory and the retention of critical technical skills. Informed by this analysis, the PPECB developed a five (5) year plan focusing on customer centricity, operational efficiency and competent human capital to effectively deliver on its mandate.

In terms of the National Treasury Regulations issued in accordance with the PFMA, the PPECB must, in consultation with the Executive Authority, annually agree on its key performance objectives, measurements and indicators. These are captured in the shareholders’ compact, which is annually concluded between the PPECB and the DALRRD.

The shareholders’ compact promotes good governance practices at the PPECB by helping to clarify roles and responsibilities of the Board and the DALRRD, as well as ensuring agreement on the PPECB’s mandate and key objectives.

In the PPECB’s annual performance information, its achievements are highlighted against the predetermined objectives for the year. The PPECB achieved all fourteen of its fourteen objectives for the year – a 100% success rate. Further detail on the predetermined objectives can be found in the annual report.

The PPECB may, with a view to meeting expenditure incurred by the entity in the performance of its functions in terms of the PPEC Act and the regulations, by notice in the Gazette, impose a statutory fee (levy) on any perishable product exported under contract or other arrangement made by, through or with the consent of the members of the Board. The proposed statutory fees (levies) for the financial year are subject to annual review and approval by the Executive Authority.

The significance and materiality framework for reporting losses through criminal conduct and irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure, as well as significant transactions envisaged per section 54(2) of the PFMA, has been confirmed by the Board. Losses through criminal conduct and irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure which are identified are disclosed as prescribed in terms of relevant legislation.

The Board has delegated a range of matters to the PPECB EXCO and has established two (2) Board committees to assist in discharging its responsibilities. Delegating authority to committees or management does not in any way release the Board of its duties and responsibilities. There is always transparency and full disclosure from the Board committees to the Board.

The PPECB had 579 (2022: 534) permanent employees, 48 (2022: 31) fixed-term contract workers and 255 (2022: 220) seasonal contract workers as at 31 March 2023.

The members of the Board are not aware of any matters or circumstances arising since the end of the financial year, not otherwise dealt with in the financial statements, which will have a significant impact on the operations, financial results or the financial position of the PPECB.

The Board believes that management has, during the year, complied in all material respects with all legislation and regulations applicable to it, including, without limitation, the PFMA, the National Treasury Regulations and the Income Tax Act No. 58 of 1962 and any other applicable legislation. The PPECB has compiled a Legal Compliance Register, which is monitored and updated as legislation changes and reported to the Risk Management Committee (RISCO) periodically.

The Board appointed PKF Cape Town as the PPECB’s external auditors for the financial year under review, which was ratified by the Office of the Auditor General of South Africa.