SITA begins appointments

Johannesburg, 24 Oct 2007

The State IT Agency (SITA) has promoted Moses Mtimunye to chief of strategic services, with effect from 1 November.

The position has been vacant since June, when contender for the CEO job Jonas Bogoshi left the agency to head up listed ICT company GijimaAst.

Last month, acting CEO Peter Pedlar noted the organisation was addressing its senior level vacancies as a matter of urgency. The position of chief of strategic services was a case in point, he explained.

"I have a shortlist of candidates for this position. The people on that list have the appropriate mix of private and public sector experience to deal with the requirements of an organisation such as SITA. However, the final appointment needs to be approved by the CEO," he commented.

Two weeks ago, newly-appointed CEO Llewellyn Jones reiterated the organisation`s need for recruitment urgency.

"We already have some of the people required to take us forward, but it is concerning that we have lost people of the calibre of Bogoshi and COO Noedine Isaacs-Mpulo. Nevertheless, we can`t just moan about the situation - we have to focus on moving quickly to fill the positions," he said.

Mtimunye (41), currently head of business development at SITA, has been acting in the position of chief of strategic services since Bogoshi`s resignation.

SITA says Mtimunye joined the organisation in March 2003 as a project and programme manager. In July 2005, he was promoted to projects director. In April 2006, he was appointed head of business development, a unit within the strategic services division.

Prior to joining SITA, Mtimunye served in various managerial positions at the Gauteng Economic Development Agency and Telkom.

Pedlar - who continues to serve as CEO until Jones takes over the role at the beginning of next month - says Mtimunye has proven his leadership ability while acting in the role.

"We have every confidence that Mtimunye will continue to be an asset to the strategic services division as he leads the implementation of SITA`s strategic imperatives," he says.