Communications & digital technologies minister Solly Malatsi has asked the Public Service Commission (PSC) to investigate the government agency responsible for all IT procurement for the state.
The nonperformance of the State Information Technology Agency (Sita) has caused immense frustration over many years to several government departments, particularly home affairs, police and justice. However, as the Sita Act gives the agency a monopoly of IT procurement for the state, the auditor-general considers any IT procurement outside the Sita framework to be irregular.
In a statement on Wednesday night, Malatsi said Sita faced mounting challenges, including governance concerns, irregular procurement practices, operational inefficiencies, and an “alarming” deterioration in service delivery. These issues had to be addressed urgently, which is why he has asked the PSC to investigate.
“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 examining the high turnover in leadership positions which has led to organisational instability,” the minister said.
“The investigation will also focus on the deteriorating professional standards within Sita, and the root causes of operational inefficiencies.
“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 towards fulfilling its role as a cornerstone of SA’s digital transformation.”
Malatsi’s decision followed an oversight visit to Sita’s offices in Pretoria with MPs’ portfolio committee on communication and digital technologies.
He said a sign of Sita’s service delivery failures was that numerous client departments, including the ministries of police, home affairs and justice, had sought exemptions from using Sita services due to inefficiencies. Malatsi said this reflected the agency’s inability to meet expectations.
The agency also faced governance challenges with allegations of corruption, maladministration, and interference at the board level raising red flags about accountability and transparency.
A high turnover at the executive and senior management levels had left critical positions in an acting capacity and divisions in the executive committee had lead to organisational instability and poor decision-making.
Consistently underwhelming results against predetermined objectives have further eroded confidence in the agency.
Irregular procurement practices was another concern due to the agency’s alleged failure to adhere to proper procurement processes which had resulted in contracts being irregularly awarded.
In addition, Sita had received deteriorating audit outcomes and was unable to submit its 2023/24 annual report for tabling in parliament which Malatsi said highlighted a “worrying” decline in financial and operational accountability.
“Consistently underwhelming results against predetermined objectives have further eroded confidence in the agency,” he said.
Malatsi noted that the PSC had a specific mandate to investigate matters related to public administration. This included looking into the conduct of public officials and institutions to ensure compliance with the constitution and public service regulations. It examined issues such as corruption, inefficiencies, and misconduct within the public sector. Through its investigations, the PSC identified areas needing improvement, recommended corrective actions and reported its findings to parliament.
In a written reply to a parliamentary question on Wednesday by ActionSA MP Lerato Ngobeni on the inefficiency of Sita and the delays in information technology infrastructure upgrades that this caused, home affairs minister Leon Schreiber said senior home affairs officials were engaging with Sita executives to expedite the procurement of critical IT infrastructure and software.
He said the delays had a severe impact on service delivery.
“However, until the Sita Act is reviewed, current procurement measures are limited to administrative interventions, as the auditor-general considers any IT procurement outside the Sita framework to be irregular in terms of the act,” Schreiber said.
“The department recognises that Sita’s inefficiencies have a tangible financial impact, quantifiable in terms of lost productivity hours. Moreover, these inefficiencies incur additional costs for citizens who must return multiple times to department of home affairs offices, leading to increased transport expenses and inconvenience.”
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