Govt suspends 2010 ICT team

By Damaria Senne, ITWeb senior journalist

Johannesburg, 02 Nov 2007

Government has suspended the committee representing the ICT sector in the planning process for 2010.

Department of Communications deputy director-general Rosey Sekese says some of the committee members were laying the groundwork to benefit their companies, rather than giving advice that is in the best interests of the department or the country.

"Some of the members were raising issues that were not part of the 2010 agenda. It became clear that they were not there about the 2010 games and were using their participation to try to influence other policy decisions."

Sekese says confidential information was also leaked. She would not disclose what strategic information was disclosed, or how the exposed information could potentially damage the 2010 planning process. However, she says information leaks bring into question the credibility of government and its ability to plan the games.

Sekese declined to release the names of the companies and individuals involved in the committee.

Deputy communications minister Roy Padayachie announced the formation of the 2010 sector-wide coordinating committee for the ICT industry in the communications budget speech last year.

Chaired by Victor Moche, a former Denel executive, the committee was to advise government on how ICT can enable the 2010 infrastructure to deliver the event.

The team investigated issues such as ensuring the local ICT sector and the rest of the country benefit from the ICT infrastructure deployed as part of the FIFA guarantees. It was also expected to consider the ICT sector`s possible involvement in providing solutions that were not part of these guarantees.

Written in stone

The committee`s mandate will now be reviewed and communications department director-general Lyndall Shope-Mafole will decide on the best way forward.

Sekese says the suspension of the coordinating committee will have no impact on government`s readiness to deploy ICT infrastructure for the 2010 games. FIFA has already signed its technology specifications agreement for the games, she notes.

This FIFA document also sets out processes to be followed if FIFA would like to change some specifications due to technological developments, she says.

"It`s an annexure to the contracts that have already been signed with institutions such as Sentech, and will guide the entire roll-out of the 2010 ICT infrastructure."

Sekese notes that while 2007 is the year for creating brick-and-mortar infrastructure, such as building or upgrading the 10 stadiums, 2008 will be the year when ICT infrastructure is put in place. Government will be ready to hand over the completed stadiums, which will have full ICT solutions for the games, by 2009, she says.

Left in the dark

BMI-TechKnowledge senior analyst Richard Hurst says government should have expected members of the ICT coordinating committee to try to gain from their involvement in the 2010 planning process.

They should have planned for it, he says. "If these people are members of the ICT sector, they are in the business of selling ICT solutions, and you can`t expect a leopard to change its spots."

"I`m mystified as to why information leaking would be a big problem, unless it was the leaking of commercial information," says World Wide Worx Strategy MD Steven Ambrose.

Ambrose says by suspending the committee, government is leaving the ICT industry in the dark as to how the country could benefit from the 2010 ICT infrastructure investment.

He points out that government is not an ICT expert. "We are talking about a massive infrastructure project, so they really need the ICT industry`s input."

Where to now?

Sekese says the ICT sector will not be left on the sidelines due to the suspension of its representative sub-committee.

"We are reviewing the committee to see how the ICT sector can still add value to the process. But we don`t want to compromise SA`s delivery."

She adds that the industry also stands to benefit from 2010 through tenders to provide ICT services in areas outside government guarantees. However, she would not divulge when these tenders would be issued.