Transnet SOC, the state-owned transport and logistics firm, has appointed accounting and professional services firm Sekela Xabiso to head its internal audits over the next five years.

Mafika Mkwanazi, chairman of Transnet’s Board of Directors, says: “This appointment is another example by which we at Transnet are providing the blueprint for meaningful and broad-based empowerment and skills development targeting black people, especially black women.”

The appointment follows a rigorous, open and public tender process run by the Audit Committee of Transnet’s Board of Directors, who decided to appoint three firms, SekelaXabiso,  Nkonki and KPMG, which will have a 40%, 20% and 40% share of the work during the first year respectively. By the fifth year, Nkonki’s share will rise to 35%, while Sekela Xabiso’s share will peak at 45%.

This follows last year’s appointment of Sizwe Ntsaluba Gobodo, another black-owned accounting firm, as Transnet’s external auditors – a move hailed as a major milestone in the transformation of the country’s financial services and accounting industry. The external audit account is worth approximately R450 million over the next five years, while the internal audit contract is close to R1.3 billion over the same period.  This will take the total value of audit work performed or lead by local firms for Transnet to nearly R2 billion over five years.