Government is withholding R866 million in payments to the State IT Agency (SITA) for IT-related services and equipment.
In response to parliamentary questions posed by the DA to the minister of Public Service and Administration, Richard Baloyi, it is revealed the money is owed to the already struggling agency.
According to Baloyi, of the total outstanding amount, national departments account for R351 million, while provincial clients owe R259 million. Another R150 million has been outstanding for more than five months, among other debts. None of SITA's clients have indicated when payments would be made.
Baloyi also noted the department had plans to address the outstanding debt.
“Five temporary debt collectors were appointed in February 2009 to assist with the collection of outstanding debt from various government departments; weekly meetings are held between clients and account managers to discuss the outstanding debt; and various other meetings have been held by SITA management with the relevant government departments to resolve the outstanding debt,” he revealed.
He added that SITA is also investigating the suitability of creating a debt collection section and looking into the possibility of cutting services in cases of persistent non-compliance.
Futile measures
“Clearly, with a five-month backlog, a culture of non-payment is being accepted as the norm. This culture of corruption and non-payment is one that has created a government devoid of responsibility and financial prudence. Government should lead by example. How can they enforce compliance if they themselves are in arrears?” stated the DA.
SITA CEO Moses Mtimunye admitted publicly, at the agency's 2009 GovTech Conference last week, that fraud and corruption at SITA were rife. Baloyi is also sitting on a risk assessment report on the agency, which points to irregularities within the organisation and its procurement practices, and leaves questions about how such widespread illegal practices could have escaped SITA management and its internal audit committee.
“SITA, due to constant government meddling, has seen 10 CEOs in 10 years step down, presumably due to their moral grounding preventing them from turning a blind eye to ongoing fraud and corruption,” said the DA.
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