ANNUAL REPORT 2012 - University of South Africa

UNISA ANNUAL REPORT 2012
No matters remained unresolved or
not brought before Council at yearend.
Nominations and
Governance Committee
Chairperson: Dr NM Phosa
The Nominations and Governance
(N&G) Committee has the dual role
of ensuring that all matters of sound
governance pertinent to the Council
are thoroughly considered and that
the relevant principles are applied
before a recommendation is made
to Council for approval of a matter.
Allied to its governance function, the
committee further considers nominations
for vacancies in the Council
membership in terms of the Institutional
Statute and makes recommendations
for the approval of Council.
In accordance with its governance
responsibilities, the committee reviewed
its structure and composition
in order to accommodate the
ministerial request that there be five
ministerial appointees on the Council,
and the recommendations were
approved at Council for incorporation
into the revised Institutional Statute.
Additionally, the Declaration of Interest
Form and Code of Conduct for
Council Members were reviewed to
ensure that the amendments to the
Higher Education Act, promulgated
in December 2011, were embedded,
the independent conduct of an
annual self-evaluation process of
Council, its committee and specific
governance functions for 2011-2015
was approved, the agenda for the
annual strategic workshop of Council
was finalised to ensure the appropriate
macro- and microlevel framework
for engagement, and advice provided
on the Tender Committee review
process to ensure (i) segregation of
powers, (ii) necessary expertise and
(iii) real and perceived independence.
The committee also reviewed the
terms of reference of Council and
Remco, and noted the importance of
continuous professional development
for all members of Council. In addition,
the committee discussed some
of the challenges of continuing the
relationship with the Ethiopian Government
and agreed that this was a
strategic partnership that needed to
be nurtured.
The committee also considered the
nominations received to fill the vacant
positions on Council, as well as to
appoint specialist advisors to the
Council committees, and submitted
its recommendations to the relevant
committees and to Council for
approval (which appointments were
finalised during 2012).
There are no matters of significance
that remain outstanding from 2012.
Information and
Communication Technologies
Committee
Chairperson:
Dr S Mokone-Matabane
Information, and the technology that
supports it, is a key resource for Unisa
and the Information and Communication
Technologies (ICT) Committee
of Council is responsible for ICT
governance and reports directly to
Council. The ICT Committee also
oversees and steers ICT strategy and
policy on behalf of Council and was
instrumental in leveraging the
resources necessary for investment in
infrastructure upgrades which have
positioned the university to take
advantage of the opportunities
available for online learning, as well
as to prepare for the changes in the
university’s organisational architecture
and business model.
Due to the heavy dependence of
the university and all its functions,
ICT-related risks loom large in the
risk assessment and management
processes of the university. The ICT
Committee maintains oversight over
risk management in the ICT domain
as part of its governance oversight
role. In 2012 there was an increasing
awareness of the need to improve
information security. This was driven
by various factors including regulatory
compliance mandates and the desire
for better information technology (IT)
alignment. In addition to focussing
on IT risk management, IT governance
also focuses on strategic
alignment, value delivery, resource
management and performance management.
In 2011 ICT governance
(albeit unverified) complied with principles
1-4 and principles 7-8 of King
III, and partially complied with principles
5 and 6, and a similar picture
pertained in 2012. In 2013 the ICT
Department will continue to mature
governance processes using guidelines
from best practice ICT management
frameworks and standards,
under the leadership and guidance
of the ICT Committee.
The ICT Committee also monitors
the institutional expenditure on ICT
projects and given the substantial
allocation to the ICT initiatives, the
institutional budgetary processes
show the investment in ICT as a
disaggregated item making it possible
to monitor capital and operational
expenses in this regard. Quarterly
reports are produced on the progress
with the programme of ICT projects,
and the expenditure associated with
this. Projects are reprioritised as
necessary as the needs of the university
shift.
Audit and Enterprise
Risk Management
Committee
Chairperson: Mr DV Kahla
Unisa has a combined Audit and
Enterprise Risk Management
Committee (AERMC), which is
chaired by an external member of
Council. Until September 2012 it
comprised seven external members
and four internal members.
In September 2012 Council accepted
the recommendation of the AERMC
that the membership of the committee
should comprise all external
members, in accordance with
benchmarked best practice. Since
September 2012, the AERMC
comprises seven members of Council
and one co-opted independent
specialist. All members of the
AERMC are independent of Unisa
and not employed by the institution.
The Vice-Chancellor and other
members of the university Management
participate in the AERMC at
the invitation of the committee.
Similarly, the external auditors and
a representative of the Auditor-
General’s Office attend AERMC
meetings at the invitation of the
committee. The Chairperson of
the AERMC is legally qualified and
experienced in matters pertaining to
the explicit role and functions of the
committee.
The AERMC derives its mandate from
the formal Terms of Reference which
are approved by Council. The Terms
of Reference, AERMC Charter and
Internal Audit Charter and Protocol,
as well as all other relevant policy
documents pertaining to the role,
function and operations of the
committee are reviewed annually
(and were reviewed in 2012) and
approved by Council.
The AERMC is diligent in adhering to
the approved Terms of Reference and
seeks to comply with sectoral best
practices and the applicable principles
21