The Black IT Forum (BITF) has lashed out at public service and administration minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi over her department's handling of the recent State IT Agency (SITA) debacle that culminated in the sudden resignation of CEO Llewellyn Jones.
In addition, BITF chairman Mthunzi Mdwaba labelled the minister as "arrogant" and accused her of not "bothering to speak to the people", for having snubbed a letter sent to her by the organisation.
The BITF reacted strongly to reports that Jones, who quit after only nine months at the helm of SITA, had been pushed to resign over alleged interference in the SITA tender process by government CIO Michelle Williams.
An investigation is being conducted into allegations that Williams, who also holds the position of deputy chairman of SITA, instructed Jones to award a R1.5 million deal, to a company other than the one chosen by the SITA Bid Evaluation Committee (BEC).
In an SMS, sent on 2 July to Jones, Williams ordered that the tender, for the business process management for the departments of home affairs, social development and justice, be awarded to Praxis Computing, instead of GijimaAst, which was chosen as the winner by the BEC.
Open accusation
Reacting to Jones's resignation, Mdwaba wrote to Fraser-Moleketi, saying: "You will [no] doubt understand our huge concern at the alleged resignation and the repercussions same will have. We have been inundated with calls from the media urging us to comment and have advised that [we] will only release a statement once we have had an audience with you. While we realise that you have a hectic schedule, we would like to convene a meeting within one week (from 30 July 2008) so we may be in a position to engage constructively."
However, the letter, dated 30 July, has so far gone unanswered, prompting Mdwaba to accuse Fraser-Moleketi of acting as if she is "above everyone" and feeling that she has "no need to listen or respond".
Up to now, Mdwaba has enjoyed a close relationship with Fraser-Moleketi and the Department of Public Service and Administration, and says he played a key role in advising the minister on previous SITA appointments.
"When [previous CEO] Mavuso Msimang was leaving SITA, I contacted the minister to discuss the leadership challenges at SITA and the organisation's needs. I told her that SITA was not serving the SME sector, but that the BITF could help it get access to the masses," Mdwaba says.
"We talked about the type of leader that SITA needs and I suggested that the CEO should have an IT background [unlike Msimang] and that he or she should be an internal appointment."
'Shocking' development
Mdwaba explains that the BITF was initially disappointed with the appointment of Llewellyn Jones, seeing it as a step back for transformation.
"But we applied our minds and realised that he is a SITA insider (board member), has an IT background, has a good track record and is a man of integrity. We decided to back down on the perceived minor transformation issue in support of a greater transformation impact."
Jones's resignation came as a shock, says Mdwaba, and he blames the SITA board for "always being a problem".
"The board is very mediocre - these are guys who don't inspire [me]. There is a lack of prior business experience among the board, with the members trying to have day-to-day influence in SITA's operations. That is bad governance."
The culprit
Mdwaba says Fraser-Moleketi should be held responsible for the quality of SITA board appointments. "All along, the minister is the common denominator - she appoints the board members. However, there is no transparency about the criteria for appointing board members."
He also questions the new board, appointed by Fraser-Moleketi a week ago. "Why was Zodwa Manase reappointed chairman? Is there no one else out there? Nothing had been achieved under her previous chairmanship, so why her?"
Ramona Baijnath, Fraser-Moleketi's spokesman, says the minister intends to meet with the BITF, but had not been able to do so because of being out of the country.
"Something will probably be scheduled for next week. This is being treated as priority."
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