Nthabiseng Mosupye has been appointed chairperson of the Open Source Software Standing Committee (OSSSC).
The OSSSC is a body of the Government Information Technology Officers Council (Gitoc). The committee is tasked with gathering information on open source trends in government, facilitating discussions and advising the Free and Open Source Software Programme Office (FPO) on implementation.
Mosupye says that, during her term, broader plans will be drawn up for free and open source software implementation in government. Readiness assessments, which are currently done by the FPO, will also be expanded, and the committee will work closely with the programme office to facilitate government implementation of open source solutions.
“Stakeholder engagement will be key. The aim is to mobilise the Gitoc, as well as other role players, in order to ensure uniformity and to lessen resistance to change by other institutions. All government departments that have implemented open source will be made partners for key projects,” she said in a statement.
Mosupye added the FPO and the committee will identify a few critical government projects and ensure the impact of the projects is enhanced.
She adds that each department will be assessed individually on the performance of its open source-related projects. The committee will also ensure these departments employ manageable open source migration projects.
“It is better to have five well managed successful projects with great delivery success than 100 projects occurring inside the vacuum. The aim is to gather all the departments which have successfully implemented open source in their units to identify the key projects in which they are implementing open source,” she explains.
Mosupye joined Gitoc in 2003, after she was appointed chief information officer at the Department of Public Works.
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