Minister wants probe into state’s IT company

Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi has requested that the Public Service Commission (PSC) investigate various issues affecting the State Information Technology Agency (SITA).

This was announced late on 11 December, after Malatsi joined the Parliamentary Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies for an oversight visit to the SITA offices in Pretoria.

Malatsi said “SITA faces mounting challenges, including governance concerns, irregular procurement practices, operational inefficiencies, and an alarming deterioration in service delivery.”

“These issues, if left unaddressed, pose a threat to the agency’s mission and its ability to deliver value to South Africans,” he added.

SITA was established in 1999 “to consolidate and coordinate the State’s information technology resources in order to achieve cost savings through scale, increase delivery capabilities and enhance interoperability.“

As per the SITA Act, the agency’s mandate is to improve service delivery to South African residents and citizens by providing information technology, information systems, and related services.

It also stipulates that this must be done in a maintained system information security environment for government departments and public bodies.

The oversight visit aimed to gauge the pressing issues impacting SITA’s ability to deliver on its mandate.

According to the Minister, key issues that have been brought to the fore include:

• Service Delivery Failures: Client departments, including Police, Home Affairs, and Justice, have requested exemptions from SITA due to inefficiencies, undermining trust in the agency’s capabilities.

• Governance Challenges: Allegations of corruption, maladministration, and board interference have raised concerns about accountability and transparency.

• Leadership Instability: High turnover in executive and senior management roles has led to acting appointments, organisational instability, and poor decision-making.

• Irregular Procurement: Failure to follow proper procurement processes has led to irregular contracts, damaging SITA’s reputation and raising legal issues.

• Deteriorating Audit Outcomes: SITA failed to submit its 2023/24 Annual Report, signaling a decline in financial and operational accountability.

• Missed Performance Targets: Consistently failing to meet objectives has further eroded confidence in the agency.

“Recognising the urgency of these matters, I have formally requested the PSC to investigate a range of critical issues affecting SITA,” said Malatsi.

The PSC investigates public administration, focusing on compliance with the Constitution.

Its mandate includes addresses corruption and misconduct, recommends improvements, and reports findings to Parliament to enhance transparency and accountability.

The Minister said that the PSC investigation includes:

• Addressing governance lapses;
• Leadership instability and infighting;
• Mismanagement and the absence of accountability in decision-making;
• Probing allegations of procurement irregularities;
• Corruption and the approval of irregular contracts; and
• The high turnover in leadership positions, which has led to organisational instability.

“The investigation will also focus on the deteriorating professional standards within SITA, and the root causes of operational inefficiencies,” added Malatsi.

“Holding SITA accountable and enhancing good governance is critical to ensuring the agency can deliver on its mandate.

“This process will not only restore accountability and trust but also set the agency on a trajectory toward fulfilling its role as a cornerstone of South Africa’s digital transformation,” he added.

SITA in the spotlight

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber made headlines at the tail-end of November after he criticised inefficiencies at the SITA.

He blamed the agency for hindering progress across government and called it a “critical obstacle on our journey towards digital transformation.”

“SITA is an artificial construct that stands squarely in the way of technological progress, not only at Home Affairs, but across government,” said Schreiber.

SITA spokesperson Tlali Tlali hit back, and revealed that the DHA is still on a Bronze service-level agreement (SLA).

The Bronze product has a 16-business-hour turnaround time for resolving issues and only supports up to 2Mbps speeds on a copper-based connection.

This is despite the agency recommending a Gold or Platinum-level product. Tlali added that Sita had proposed migrating 133 DHA sites from copper to fibre Internet with 10Mbps speeds.

This was not the first time the Home Affairs and SITA have butted heads.

In June 2021, former Home Affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi told the NCOP that Home Affairs wanted permission from National Treasury to ditch SITA and use a private IT provider.

Motsoaledi said that the IT services provided by SITA were the “original sin” of Home Affairs, and argued that although other government departments may be somewhat affected by problems at SITA, it has a crippling impact on his department.

Motsoaledi’s statements in Parliament drew sharp criticism from then-SITA executive caretaker Luvuyo Keyise.

Keyise said Home Affairs’ problems are not SITA’s fault, but due to the department’s own ineptitude and unwillingness to pay for the quality of service it actually needs.

SITA advised that the DHA consider upgrading to a platinum-tier service, providing all the necessary redundancy and a far stricter service level agreement.

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