The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) has appointed Department of Public Works government IT officer (GITO) Nthabiseng Mosupye to take over control of its IT environment as of 1 February. The appointment follows the expiry of acting-executive Jeff Moji's contract.
The national department's IT environment has been labelled problematic by the auditor-general, Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services, its own internal audit committee and, most recently, Parliament's Special Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa).
The Correctional Services Portfolio Committee's budgetary review and recommendation report on the department's performance in 2010/11, as well as the first half of the current financial year, calls for the DCS to immediately address its excessive use of consultants, particularly in relation to IT.
The recommendations demonstrate the committee's decision to maintain a close eye on proceedings within the IT environment:
* “The DCS should provide a detailed report on its management of IT consultants, in particular how appointments are made, how the duration of contracts is determined, and exit strategies in place when contracts expire.
* “The DCS should have developed a strategy for skills transfer from IT consultants to DCS officials, as well as for recruiting, training and retaining appropriately skilled officials by 31 March 2012.
* “The DCS should in all future monthly and quarterly reports clearly indicate expenditure on outsourced IT services.
* “The DCS should provide the committee with a costed implementation plan for the overhaul of the DCS's IT systems to ensure it supports and enables business, thereby improving performance.
* “The DCS should submit a report detailing how much of what had over the past five years been spent on IT, amounted to fruitless and wasteful expenditure. “
The DCS also came in for a lashing from Scopa, as 2011 came to a close. Chairman Themba Godi called the department a “consultant's paradise”, following discussions of the 189 consultants to the IT unit.
“I fail to understand how 189 consultants could not offer such a simple service as administering e-mails for the department,” he commented.
Giving IT the works
Insiders and those close to the DCS are overjoyed at Mosupye's appointment, describing her as the department's first chance at achieving operational normality in years.
“Mosupye's a straight arrow: she knows what she's doing, she's done it before and most importantly she has a reputation for being anything but corrupt,” says one source who asked not to be named.
Confirming the appointment this morning, correctional services spokesperson Sonwabo Mbananga said the department has high hopes for its new GITO appointment.
“IT is critical to delivering on, and measuring the success of, many of our programmes of action. This goes beyond administration and normal operational requirements to include our security, corrections, development and social rehabilitation programmes.
“There are essential requirements in these programmes such as connecting to AFIS - the Department of Home Affairs' automated fingerprint identification system; the electronic monitoring system - to track parolee movements; and qualitative data on recidivism, which is required to inform us on the efficacy of our rehabilitation programmes,” he comments.
Although Mosupye is only due to take up her position on 1 February, insiders says she has been in office since last week assessing the lay of the land.
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