SITA board to launch probe

By Martin Czernowalow for SITA
Johannesburg, 04 Aug 2008

The State Information Technology Agency (SITA)'s board will launch its own investigation into the allegations surrounding the resignation of CEO Llewellyn Jones, who quit the organisation after nine months.

His resignation, effective from 31 July, came amid allegations that government CIO and deputy chairman of SITA Michelle Williams interfered with a SITA tender process.

Williams allegedly instructed Jones to award a R1.5 million deal, for the business process management for the Departments of Home Affairs, Social Development and Justice, to a company other than the one chosen by the SITA Bid Evaluation Committee.

In a statement issued at the weekend, SITA chairman Thenjiwe Chikane stated: "[W]e regard the recent media reports concerning the former CEO's resignation as unfortunate and we will thoroughly interrogate all the allegations which have been speculated on."

This morning, SITA spokesman Elton Fortuin confirmed that the board's investigation would be separate from the one launched by the Department of Public Services and Administration (DPSA).

Downplaying the scandal

Last week, the DPSA attempted to downplay the scandal, which broke as SITA was holding its annual high-level GovTech conference, in Durban.

Public service and administration minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi's spokeswoman, Ramona Baijnath, said that government, at this stage, sees no wrongdoing with Williams's actions, but added that an investigation was under way. She also moved to distance Fraser-Moleketi from the allegations, saying the minister is not involved with SITA procurement processes.

Baijnath further stated that Williams's interference was prompted by a flawed tender evaluation process that saw the tender being awarded to GijimaAST. However, she would not commit to whether or not Williams acted correctly in deciding that the contract should be given to Praxis Computing, the fourth company on the shortlist.

In light of the allegations, Praxis Computing CEO Yugasen Naidoo has steadfastly denied that his company is in any way involved in the scandal, or that he had been informed that Praxis won the tender.

"We actually thought that we had lost this tender. None of us at the company know, or have ever met, Michelle Williams," he says, adding that it is unfortunate that his company's name had been mentioned in connection with the issue.

Acting CEO

Meanwhile, SITA has appointed chief of business operations Femke Pienaar as its acting CEO, until further notice.

"SITA will now commence and fast-track the process of finding a permanent CEO for the organisation," it said in a statement.

The SITA board is responsible for selecting and recommending a shortlist of candidates for the CEO position, while the final decision resides with Fraser-Moleketi after consultation with Cabinet.

"We would obviously seek to conclude this process in the shortest possible timeframe and we will be making every effort to expedite the matter," says SITA chairman Thenjiwe Chikane.

She added that the board intends contracting an executive placement agency to manage and oversee the administration of the recruitment process and that due consideration will be given to all suitable candidates, both within and outside the organisation.

Questions posed to SITA regarding the current status of the controversial tender and whether it would probe the awarding of past tenders remain unanswered.