DIRCO Annual Report

The department introduced the following measures to attend to the challenges as identified: • stringent Term of Reference (TOR) requirements were introduced, including the reviews in consultation with Risk Management • drafting of the Contract Management Policy • benchmarking of the Contract Management Unit with other departments. Gifts and donations received in kind from non-related parties Gifts and donations received in kind from non-related parties in the execution of foreign policy at missions abroad and during high-level visits as appreciation of which the detail is illustrated in Annexure 1K of the financial statements. Exemptions and deviations received from the National Treasury None. Events after the reporting date None Other: Agency services The department renders agency services on behalf of other departments, public entities and provinces that have staff members stationed abroad or where the departmental delegations travel abroad for official purposes, including institutions. In addition, the department also renders agency services on behalf of the Department of Home Affairs in relation to immigration and civic services rendered abroad. The department has entered into agreements through signed Memoranda of Understanding with the relevant departments, with the purpose of setting out the administrative arrangements concerning cooperation between the department and the relevant departments at South African missions, including advance payments by partner departments. Acknowledgement/s or appreciation I would like to acknowledge the support received from the Honourable Minister and Deputy Ministers of the Department. My gratitude and appreciation go to the Audit Committee members, Risk Management Committee members, the Senior Management and staff of DIRCO, National Treasury as well as the Office of the Auditor-General of South Africa.

The 25-year contract term ends in September 2034. The total cost incurred in relation to the agreement for the financial year 2020/21 is as follows: DESCRIPTION R’000 2020/21 2019/20 Unitary fees (fixed component) 27 947 27 947 Management fees, facilities and VAT (indexed component) 240 388 228 864 Total 268 335 256 811 Discontinued activities/activities to be discontinued None New or proposed activities None Supply Chain Management (SCM) There were no unsolicited bid proposals concluded for the year under review. The department introduced the following processes and systems in order to prevent irregular expenditure: • the process system that has been implemented include procurement through committees for transactions that are above R200 000 for Head Office and above US$20 000 for missions. • utilisation of checklists to improve compliance for Head Office and Mission transactions • termination of various irregular contracts and advertising of new bids to replace irregular contracts • training of SCM officials and Bid Committee officials. The department is still experiencing the following challenges with regard to SCM: • various bids had to be re-advertised after bidders failed to comply with mandatory requirements. • lack of contract management capacity within SCM.

Department of International Relations and Cooperation

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