The South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa) was successfully turning itself around, the State-owned entity’s CEO, Loyiso Tyabashe, has told Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy. He also pointed out that the 2021/22 financial year (FY) had been a time of transition from Necsa’s previous strategy and corporate plan to a new strategy, focused on growth.

At the start of the financial year, Necsa had been forecast to make a loss for the year of R155-million. At the end of the financial year, the loss actually recorded had been much less, at R23.2-million. During the previous financial year, it had suffered a loss of R318.74-million. In FY 2019/20 the loss had been R190.91-million and in FY 2018/19, Necsa had seen a loss of R12.46-million.

The new, approved strategy and corporate plan had a focus on increasing the number and diversity of the entity’s revenue streams. This would first reduce Necsa’s dependence on the fiscus and then move the organisation into a position of contributing to the country’s socioeconomic objectives, as established in the National Development Plan. For FY 2022/23, Necsa was now predicted to record a loss of R23.16-million, followed by a return to profit, of R86.78-million in FY 2023/24, rising to R106.89-million in FY 2024/25.

In terms of predetermined objectives, while in FY 2020/21 only 50% of these had been achieved, in FY 2021/22 63% had been achieved. (‘Achieved’ being defined as being within 10%, or above, of the target.) Necsa’s commercial programme achieved 54% of its targets, with nuclear medicine and industrial isotopes reaching 80%, nuclear and industrial manufacturing achieving 50%, and fluorochemicals recording 33%. The group’s infrastructure programme reached 50% of its targets, but this was subdivided into the new multipurpose reactor programme, which achieved 100%, and the Pelindaba Masterplan, which recorded 0%. Growth initiatives recorded a success rate of 60%, while research capability, support services and compliance also reached 100%.

In terms of the audit findings regarding Necsa, in FY 2021/22 there were 14 ‘material findings’. This was a significant reduction over the 63 material findings logged in FY 2020/21, a figure that was itself a large reduction over the 160 material findings recorded in FY 2019/20.

In FY 2021/22, fruitless and wasteful expenditure at Necsa came to R0.011-million, as against R0.09-million in FY 2020/21. But in FY 2019/20 fruitless and wasteful expenditure had come to R2.97-million, while in FY 2018/19 it had amounted to R4.08-million. 

Irregular expenditure in FY 2021/22 had totalled R11.811-million. But in FY 2020/21 it was R32.146-million, in FY 2019/20 it had been R34.623-million, and in FY 2018/19, R69.875-million.

Tyabashe noted that the group’s improving compliance with the Public Finance Management Act was part of the strengthening of Necsa’s governance. The turnaround also involved an internal cultural adaptation, “compacted on” a high-performance culture. The group’s future growth would come from seven strategic projects, categorised as neutron source generation projects; advanced manufacturing, nuclear and related technology applications; fluorochemical business sustainability; radioisotopes and pharmaceutical business sustainability; waste projects; energy projects; and, sustainable site utilisation and infrastructure management.