The governance troubles at the embattled State IT Agency (SITA) have reared their ugly head again, with the oversight body considering a parliamentary enquiry into its affairs.
This will add to the ongoing investigations into SITA governance matters, such as those being conducted by the Public Service Commission and Public Protector, with the latter looking into the process to appoint the previous acting MD and chief procurement officer.
Yesterday, the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) briefed the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies about the ongoing governance issues and allegations of maladministration at SITA.
During the briefing, the committee also considered its own oversight report developed following an emergency intervention oversight visit to SITA in December 2024.
DCDT director-general Nonkqubela Jordan-Dyani told MPs the Public Protector is also investigating the appointment of a firm of attorneys as company secretary without following a competitive bidding process, the appointment of the interim board, and the appointment of the ministerial task team.
“The minister has met with the Public Protector, and we’ve been given assurance that they are working to conclude on these matters quickly and we’ll await the outcome of that investigation.”
She noted the department is also aware of the investigation that is currently under way following allegations made by a whistleblower and it awaits the findings.
The department has also been made aware that staff at the KwaZulu-Natal SITA office were being ill-treated and bullied by the provincial manager, said Jordan-Dyani. “An investigation is currently under way to determine the facts and what to do with the people placed under suspension.”
Furthermore, according to the DG, the DCDT is concerned about the audit outcomes at SITA. Resultantly, the minister and deputy minister had an engagement with the board on the matters at the last AGM and sat down with the Auditor-General SA team to provide the details of these transgressions, she said.
In a statement, the portfolio committee says it notes with “serious concern” the ongoing governance challenges at SITA.
“While the committee welcomes the Public Service Commission and Public Protector’s investigations into board infighting, mismanagement and lapses in accountability and decision-making at SITA, it has also consulted with Parliamentary Legal Services to seek guidance on the desirability of implementing section 227 (1) (c) of the National Assembly Rules to institute a parliamentary enquiry into SITA’s affairs.
“In line with Parliament’s full legal authority to conduct its own investigations and cognisant of the doctrine of separation of powers, such an enquiry would focus on the staff concerns that organised labour have raised with the committee, the high staff turnover at executive level, and the governance and operational inefficiencies that have led some government departments to consider applying for exemption from using SITA as government’s preferred partner for the delivery of information and technology solutions.”
Before posing her questions to the DCDT delegation, committee member and Democratic Alliance MP TsholofeloKatlego Bodlani commented that “kuningi” (a lot) is happening at SITA,describing the situation as Pandora’s box. “Every time you hear something aboutSITA, it feels like we’re really not moving forward – we are regressing.”
While SITA has numerous troubles, its governance issues are said to impact its ability to deliver on its critical mandate.
An entity of the DCDT, SITA sits as a central pillar of government's IT procurement. It is also responsible for developing, operating and/or maintaining ICT services consumed by government departments.
The entity was also recently in the cross hairs with the communications minister when its outgoing board “unilaterally” appointed an acting MD without ministerial approval.
An acting MD has since been appointed, effective 5 February. However, it remains without an executive board, as their term expired on 31 January.
Updating the oversight body on SITA’s leadership vacuum, Jordan-Dyani said board member nominations have been received and are now being subjected to a selection process.
“The minister has considered the appointment of an interim board, with the matter awaiting Cabinet approval,” she said, adding that an interim board is to ensure there is no “governance vacuum” at SITA.
According to the SITA Act, the acting MD can be appointed from within SITA’s staff complement. “SITA has about seven executives and the board went through a process of identifying. After an interchange between us [DCDT] and the outgoing SITA board, the acting MD was appointed, effective from 5 February.
“The appointee is Gopal Reddy, who is a SITA executive and will occupy the role for three months, or until such time a new executive MD has been appointed.”
According to the committee, its oversight report on SITA, adopted on 12 February, contains recommendations, which the minister is expected to respond to and implement following the National Assembly’s adoption of the report.
Other recommendations relate to developing interim measures to ensure there is no governance vacuum while a new board and managing director is appointed, and establishing whether it is desirable to pay fees to members of the board, who were relieved of their duties by deputy communications minister Mondli Gungubele when he was the department’s minister, it says in the statement.
The committee’s chairperson welcomed the department’s assurances that the process of appointing a new board is at an advanced stage, with Cabinet currently considering the appointment of an interim board.
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