Government heads into the new year without a CIO, as the position has not yet been filled, despite becoming vacant from the end of April last year.
The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) says the position of government CIO, now known as deputy director general for public service ICT management, has not yet been filled.
"Candidates shortlisted in response to the advertisement for this position have been interviewed. With the interviews having taken place, the processes in meeting the recruitment and selection prescripts for senior management posts are at the final stages. An announcement of the appointed candidate will thus be on completion of these processes.”
It adds that currently acting in this capacity is the chief director of operations within the office of the government CIO Walter Mudau.
No guidance
Government has been without an IT head since the resignation of CIO Michelle Williams last year. Her last day of service was 30 April. She initially took up the position in November 2007.
Commenting on the current lack of a government CIO, national chairperson of the Black IT Forum Darryl Dennis previously said the very nature of the CIO position is critical.
He explained that this is because the CIO sets the ICT benchmark for the rest of government.
The DPSA, as a department, is a critical component for government as a whole when it comes to ICT, considering it governs entities like the State IT Agency (SITA), adds Dennis.
Dennis also says the vacuum causes fundamental challenges for the private sector since it leaves a gap in its engagement with government.
Controversial leader
Williams, who also served as SITA's deputy chairperson, was embroiled in the high-profile controversy surrounding the resignation of the agency's CEO, Llewellyn Jones, in 2009. Jones, a respected ICT veteran, left the agency abruptly less than a year into his tenure, citing personal differences with Williams.
This dispute between the two arose when Williams was alleged to have instructed Jones to sideline the winning bidder for a SITA tender - formally chosen by the agency's tender adjudication committee - and hand the deal to another company that had also punted, unsuccessfully, for the contract. Williams always denied any wrongdoing and stated she had legitimate reasons for overturning the original tender decision, as certain government criteria - mostly around BEE - were not met by the initial winner.
In the same year, she was also accused of bringing SITA into “further disrepute”, in a risk assessment report compiled by enterprise risk assessment firm Henderson Solutions. The report revealed large-scale fraud and corruption plaguing the agency's procurement processes.
Williams stepped down from the SITA board in October 2009, but remained government CIO.
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