The proposed State IT Agency (Sita) is badly planned, could be unconstitutional and is doomed to failure, according to a submission released to Parliament's public service portfolio committee last week, reported Sapa.
In terms of the proposal, Sita is to be established as a private company with the State as sole shareholder; initially consisting of Denel`s IT division, Infoplan, and the Government`s Central Computer Services. It would, at a fee, offer services to Government departments.
The director-general of State expenditure, Cassim Gassiep, said the agency is a massive operation that should involve careful planning. "I have seen nothing," he said. "We are talking about merging billion rand investments without detailed plans."
The Government could also be breaking the law if it went ahead with plans to incorporate Infoplan into the agency. As a private company, it can not be incorporated into a public sector organisation without regard to tender board regulations, reported Sapa.
Director of monitoring for the Public Service Commission, Conya Booyens, informed the committee of these possible legal complications.
Sita`s exemption from certain provisions of the Companies Act, a freedom extended to no other company, could conflict with competition legislation and the Constitution because it gave Sita an unequalled advantage.
Representatives of the departments of public service and state expenditure would serve on the Sita board, raising fiduciary conflicts. The fact that Sita could receive funding from the State also appears to contradict the principle of fair competition, noted Sapa.
It is also unclear how Government assets, such as mainframe systems, would be guaranteed if Sita was liquidated.
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