The members of the Board are required by the Public Finance Management Act (Act No. 1 of 1999) (PFMA) to maintain adequate accounting records and are responsible for the content and integrity of the annual financial statements and related financial information included in this report. It is the responsibility of the members of the Board to ensure that the annual financial statements fairly present the state of affairs of the entity as at the end of the financial year and the results of its operations and cash flows for the period then ended. The external auditors are engaged to express an independent opinion on the annual financial statements and are given unrestricted access to all financial records and related data.

The annual financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Standards of Generally Recognised Accounting Practice (GRAP), including any interpretations, guidelines and directives issued by the Accounting Standards Board and the requirements of the PFMA.

The annual financial statements are based upon appropriate accounting policies consistently applied and supported by reasonable and prudent judgements and estimates.

The members of the Board acknowledge that they are ultimately responsible for the system of internal financial control established by the entity and place considerable importance on maintaining a strong control environment. To enable the members of the Board to meet these responsibilities, the members of the Board set standards for internal control aimed at reducing the risk of error or deficit in a cost-effective manner. The standards include the proper delegation of responsibilities within a clearly defined framework, effective accounting procedures and adequate segregation of duties to ensure an acceptable level of risk. These controls are monitored throughout the entity and all employees are required to maintain the highest ethical standards in ensuring the entity’s business is conducted in a manner that, in all reasonable circumstances, is above reproach. The focus of risk management in the entity is on identifying, assessing, managing and monitoring all known forms of risk across the entity. While operating risk cannot be fully eliminated, the entity endeavours to minimise it by ensuring that appropriate infrastructure, controls, systems and ethical behaviour are applied and managed within predetermined procedures and constraints.