The ghost of GovTech past

By Martin Czernowalow for SITA
Johannesburg, 13 Jan 2009

The Auditor-General's report on the circumstances surrounding the controversial resignation of State IT Agency (SITA) CEO Llewellyn Jones is due to be released within the next few days.

Jones quit in July last year, on the eve of SITA's high-profile annual GovTech conference, citing a clash between himself and government CIO Michelle Williams.

It was alleged that Williams, also the deputy-chairman of the SITA board, instructed Jones - via SMS - to award a R1.5 million deal, for the business process management for the departments of home affairs, social development and justice, to a company other than the one chosen by the SITA Bid Evaluation Committee.

While Williams and then minister of public service and administration Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi denied any wrongdoing, the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) referred the matter to the Auditor-General for investigation.

Sources close to SITA this morning revealed that the report is ready and was planned for release yesterday. However, this was delayed due to fears that news of the Supreme Court of Appeals' judgement, in terms of the prosecution of ANC leader Jacob Zuma, would overshadow the report.

It is now expected that the report will be released before the end of this week, or at least before the opening of Parliament, next Wednesday.

Surprise findings?

“The report is very interesting - it isn't what most of industry will be expecting,” says one of the sources, refusing to elaborate. It is understood the Auditor-General's investigation focused specifically on whether due process was followed in the awarding of the tender and whether there was wrongdoing by any of the parties involved.

Since the debacle, the agency has faced severe criticism from various industry organisations, including the Black IT Forum and the Information Technology Association. Both organisations have raised concerns about the apparent lack of transparency pertaining to SITA's procurement processes. Further questions have also been raised about a possible conflict of interest, stemming from Williams being the government CIO, as well as serving on the SITA board.

Meanwhile, despite earlier hopes for a speedy appointment of a new CEO, SITA has still not managed to fill the position. It is currently being filled by SITA chief of business operations Femke Pienaar, in an acting capacity.

This process was reportedly delayed by last year's government shake-up that led to the resignation of certain key ANC officials and ministers, including president Thabo Mbeki, as well as Fraser-Moleketi.

The DPSA portfolio was subsequently filled by Richard Baloyi, who was given a short-list of SITA CEO candidates in October last year, but chose not to make a decision at that stage.

“The minister, being new in the position, wanted to apply his mind to the matter and thus delayed the appointment of a new CEO. But it is likely that the first sitting of Parliament, next week, will mean some developments around this issue,” says a source close to SITA.