The position of government CIO has been vacant for more than two years, and still the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) is yet to appoint someone to the post.
DPSA spokesperson Ndivhuwo Wa Ha Mabaya says the appointment of a CIO is regarded as urgent and the department is "almost done" with the recruitment process.
Wa Ha Mabaya says the department will announce its new CIO as soon as an appointment has been made, which will be "soonest." When asked to provide tangible reasons for the delay in the process, he said "it takes long to recruit people".
Meanwhile, Walter Mudau, chief director of operations within the office of the government CIO, is still the acting CIO with full powers.
Wa Ha Mabaya previously explained the department advertised the post, but was compelled to embark on an additional headhunting process as the minister was not happy with the quality of candidates.
Government has been without an IT head since the resignation of CIO Michelle Williams at the end of April 2011. She initially took up the position in November 2007.
Williams left the company following her involvement in the high-profile controversy surrounding the resignation of the State IT Agency's (SITA's) CEO, Llewellyn Jones. Jones abruptly resigned in 2009, citing personal differences with Williams.
This dispute arose when Williams allegedly instructed Jones to sideline the winning bidder for a SITA tender in favour of another entity that unsuccessfully bid. Williams denied any wrongdoing and said the original winning bidder did not meet certain government criteria. She stepped down from the SITA board in October 2009, but remained government CIO until April 2011.
ICT framework
Wa Ha Mabaya says the government CIO will head up the Government IT Officers Council, which is central to the implementation of ICT initiatives within government. The CIO is also expected to provide leadership on e-government and is the custodian of the national ICT strategy.
The state recently unveiled an ambitious plan to roll out a government-wide ICT governance framework.
Failure to comply with the framework will have serious consequences for government officials in terms of the Public Service Act, as immediate disciplinary steps will be taken. In addition, progress of implementation against timelines will be monitored by the auditor-general. The implementation of the framework is expected to improve overall service delivery and decrease fraud.
The first phase of the framework is set to be completed at 150 national and provincial structures by the end of next March.
Professor Basie von Solms, director of the University of Johannesburg's Centre for Cyber Security, says the lack of a government CIO should not necessarily be worrying as to the success of the ICT governance framework.
"They [DPSA] succeeded very well in creating the framework and getting Cabinet to approve it, and seem very committed to make it work. Clearly someone [in the department] is getting things done, whether there is a permanent CIO or not," says Von Solms.
He notes that the DPSA has its work cut out for it with the broad plan and tight timeframes. "[The department] is definitely going to have to extend the deadline, but it won't be because of a vacant CIO position. There is just no way all the government departments will have been able to make their submissions by that time. But even if the deadline gets extended, at least everyone will have started to do something by that time."
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