Sita amendment enforces centralised govt IT spend

By Staff Writer for SITA
Johannesburg, 03 Jun 2002

An amendment Bill currently before Parliament would make it mandatory for all government departments to buy all information technology products either from or through the State Information Technology Agency (Sita).

Sita will also be give the exclusive right to sell authentication products and services to both government and organs of state and will be allowed to set up subsidiaries.

The private company in which the state is the only shareholder was established through an Act in 1998, with the objective of centralising government spending on IT. However, the participation of provincial governments and government departments was largely voluntary.

The amendment Bill removes the definition of "participating departments" from law, and all departments will have to source a wide area network and data processing services from Sita. Should a department wish to procure training or software development services, these must also be bought from Sita.

Should Sita not be able to provide what is required, it must handle the procurement from any third-party supplier.

The amendment would require Sita to certify that everything purchased from or through it adheres to set interoperability and security standards.

The amendment allows for the minister of Public Service and Administration, with the approval of the minister of Finance, to set the "market-related" rates in which transactions will be priced. Where possible, suppliers from the province where the services are required must be used.

In terms of the amendment, Sita will have the exclusive right to "sell or provide authentication products or services for all departments and organs of state".

Sita will also be allowed to establish subsidiaries, delegate its responsibilities to it and, with Cabinet approval, sell or transfer the shares in a subsidiary.

The Bill is based on an April 2001 Cabinet decision to change the Sita business model and establish it as government`s "IT house of value".

The amendment is expected to be promulgated in July.