Joburg theatres achieve a R7-m surplus in third quarter

03 July 2017

 

The Joburg City Theatres (JCT) – the City of Joburg’s entertainment entity – achieved 91% of its service delivery targets during the third quarter of the 2016-2017 financial year.

 

This is according to a report presented to council by JCT Chief Executive Officer Xoliswa Nduneni-Ngema during the council’s monthly meeting at the new chamber in Braamfontein on Thursday June 29.

The JCT is made up of the City’s three theatres – Joburg, Roodepoort and Soweto.

In her quarterly report to council, Nduneni-Ngema said the municipal-owned entity achieved 20 out of 22 of its Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). She said the two remaining KPls were not measured as their implementation depended on the 2017-2018 budget allocation. She said if these had been excluded from the equation, the entity would have achieved 100% of its targets.

One of the major highlights of the quarter – from 1 January 2017 to 31 March 2017 – was the achievement of a surplus of more than R7.1-million. This represents an increase of 603% compared with a targeted surplus of R912 711. The figure also shows a 128% improvement on the surplus achieved during the corresponding period the previous financial year.

Nduneni-Ngema said the Arts Alive Festival contributed R1.4-million to the surplus, while its Catering Services Department contributed slightly more than R1-million. The entity’s cash and cash equivalents went up by 233%. However, the current ratio is down by 8% – 1.39:1 to 1:28:1. But this is still above the City’s norm of 2:1.

“However, this does not pose a challenge for the entity as the asset base does not grow because a lot of asset improvements are funded by the City,” said Nduneni-Ngema.

She added that the entity would continue to “forge a good relationship between revenue generation and expenditure patterns” by employing prudent financial discipline on expenditure management.

During this period, the JCT produced internationally acclaimed writer and author Zakes Mda’s classic satire The Mother of All Eating across all three theatres. The aim was to highlight and emphasise the ugliness of corruption, especially after Johannesburg Executive Mayor Herman Mashaba declared graft public enemy No 1.

During quarter, the board and management conducted strategic planning workshops to reflect on the 2016-2017 financial year so as to ensure the best was carried over to the 2017-2018 financial year and to ensure that that the company’s strategic objectives were in line with those of the City.

The CEO thanked outgoing board members Dr Wally Mongane Serote, Ishmael Mkhabela, Mavuso Shabalala, Mabutho Sithole, Todd Twala, Lorraine Malebo, Sipho Sithole, Bishop Eugene Sinclair and Advocate Johnny Modipa for their dedication, “which inspired all of us”.

Nduneni-Ngema welcomed the new board, which consists of Nkopane Maphiri, Ashley Hayden, Mpho Lecoge, Stella Baloyi, Dr Theophilus Mukhuba, Amanda Forsythe, Thabo Moitsheki, Makhosazana Mbatha, Mpumelelo Mkhabela and Junior Ramova.

She said she was confident the new board members’ collective experience and business leadership would lead JCT on a new growth path.