SITA board under fire for interfering in procurement and leadership instability
The oversight visit to SITA follows committee meetings where SITA’s poor performance came under the spotlight.
Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi. Picture: @CommsZA/X
CAPE TOWN - The State Information Technology Agency (SITA) board has come under fire from members of Parliament (MPs) for interfering in procurement and leadership instability.
Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi has also called out the board for “service delivery frustrations” as the state IT body struggles to service the needs of government departments.
The committee and the minister were part of an oversight visit to SITA’s office in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
The oversight visit to SITA follows committee meetings where SITA’s poor performance came under the spotlight.
Members have also bemoaned the state of the board - which has been described as fragmented and dysfunctional.
The committee's chairperson - Khusela Diko - says the agency has been dysfunctional over many years and noted how it has appointed over 20 MDs.
"In particular around governance noting leadership instability in the institution. Over the last 30 years or so you’ve had no less than 20 managing directors which on average means at the SITA you have one Managing Director (MD) per year and a half."
"The sense that we’ve gotten even from sister departments, the overwhelming majority of cabinet members is an overwhelming sense of frustration about the service delivery capabilities of SITA" said Minster Solly Malatsi.
The acting managing director Simphiwe Dzengwa assured MPs that key vacancies are being filled and admitted to the failure of management, singling out provinces like KZN where employees were unfairly dismissed.