'Gatvol' Jones to leave after GovTech

By Kimberly Guest for SITA
Johannesburg, 29 Jul 2008

Public service and administration minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi has accepted embattled State IT Agency (SITA) CEO Llewellyn Jones's resignation, ITWeb can exclusively report.

Jones confirmed this today, following a special SITA board meeting convened by Fraser-Moleketi yesterday afternoon. He also confirmed that his resignation, tendered last week Thursday, was the result of a rift between him and government CIO Michelle Williams, who also serves as deputy-chairman of the SITA board.

"I can describe my mood today as 'gatvol'," said Jones, who refused to be drawn on details of the clash between himself and Williams, except for pointing out that it was not a personal issue, but a professional one.

He is expected to leave the organisation shortly after the GovTech conference, which is currently under way in Durban.

Sources close to SITA say Fraser-Moleketi's siding with Williams has left most of the board members in a state of shock, and several, including chairman Thenjiwe Chikane, are allegedly considering stepping down. Chikane was reportedly "devastated" by the meeting, but could not be reached for comment today.

Meanwhile, it has come to light that Jones has quit his position due to Williams, who was appointed government CIO eight months ago, allegedly interfering with the running of SITA.

Changing the criteria

Specifically, says the source, Williams instructed Jones, via SMS, not to award the SITA e-government tender to a company chosen by the agency's Bid Evaluation Committee (BEC). Instead, she insisted that the tender be awarded to Praxis Computing, which rated fourth on the short-list.

It is alleged that Jones argued that the BEC had followed the formal procedure for awarding the tender. However, this prompted Williams to not only question the scoring process for tender evaluation, but also to appoint Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) personnel to review the tender and procedures.

The source says that Williams is currently in the process of pushing evaluation criteria through the SITA board, which would give the DPSA final say over the evaluation and awarding of tenders.

Under these proposed criteria, it is alleged that the financial portion of a bid would be reduced from a 50% weighting to 30%, the technical portion would hold a 30% weighting, while the BEE weighting would increase from 10% to more than 30%.

The source also says that Williams proposed a new structure for SITA, under which the DPSA would appoint a COO for the agency, and she even put forward a DPSA official to fill the role. Furthermore, under this proposed structure, the agency would also appoint a chief procurement officer, removing procurement from the responsibilities of chief of regulatory affairs and procurement Peter Pedlar.

Earning enough

It is further alleged that Williams refused to agree to bonuses for SITA senior management, saying they were paid well enough already. This is despite SITA performing solidly in the last year, achieving a nett profit of R270 million.

Meanwhile, the source says that SITA executives and top management are using the GovTech conference to find new jobs. "At this year's GovTech, there is not much interest in technology, or government programs. Instead, it is dominated by SITA executives lobbying for employment."

Reacting to Jones's resignation, an industry player said that it is very concerning that it appears the minister is siding with an inexperienced person over an experienced manager, with credibility in the marketplace.

Prior to joining government as CIO, Williams was a programme director for the 2010 World Cup for Siemens, where she coordinated Siemens' portfolio on major event infrastructure.

"Although Jones did not need the job, he agreed to help out, a lot like Bobby Godsell's acceptance of the position at Eskom. To undermine his contribution in such a way is a disgrace," said the unnamed industry player.

Williams refused to comment, referring all questions about the resignation to Jones. Earlier today, Fraser-Moleketi's spokesman Ramona Baijmath said the minister would be in meetings all day and would not comment on the matter at this stage.