Minister of Higher Education and Training (DHET), Dr Blade Nzimande, will on Thursday 4th October 2012 deliver the keynote address at an event to get the Walter Sisulu University’s (WSU) B Com (Accountancy) programme re-accredited by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants.
The DHET will provide R84 million in funding through the National Skills Fund in this ground-breaking project that will significantly contribute towards addressing the current skills shortage in South Africa, specifically within the chartered accounting profession.
Under the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants’ (SAICA) Thuthuka Programme, SAICA will provide administrative support, while the University of Cape Town will provide the academic support to ensure that WSU gets re-accredited for the qualification.
The Minister says it is encouraging that the re-accreditation of Walter Sisulu is happening within a context where there is an insufficient number of black Chartered Accountants in South Africa, with only 6 668 of the 34 418 Chartered Accountants in South Africa being black and the accredited universities having already exceeded their capacity and ability to train more CAs (SA).
“It is even more exciting that this transformative programme is being launched at one of our rural universities because there is a real need to reach more rural learners than the currently accredited universities can reach, as that will greatly improve particularly the number of African CAs, which currently stands at just under 2500,” Minister Nzimande says.
Members of the media are invited to attend the event:
Date: Thursday 4th October 2012
Time: 10h00
Venue: Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital, Mthatha
RSVP: Bridget Ndlovu on 078 291 4438 by Tuesday 2nd October 2012
Of the total number of 34 418 CAs in SA, only 1 100 are African female and 1 339 African male (2439), 468 are Coloured female with 478 Coloured males (946), 1 347 are Indian female with 1 936 Indian male (3283), 7 768 are White female with 19 852 White males (27619) and 130 not yet classified (unknown).
South Africa has a shortage of over 5 000 CAs with the public sector having a vacancy rate of over 40% in the financial fields.
Minister Blade Nzimande commends South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (SAICA) for Walter Sisulu University initiative
