The State Information Technology Agency’s (SITA’s) stronghold on ICT procurement for government departments may soon be a thing of the past, after communications minister Solly Malatsi quietly gazetted regulation amendments to the SITA Act.
This comes amid heightened frustrations from client departments, particularly the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), which have noted dissatisfaction with the agency’s service delivery and capacity. The department has reportedly noted efforts to sever ties with SITA.
DHA offices frequently experience technology interruptions and network downtime issues, with the blame often placed on SITA’s doorstep. The government IT procurement agency has vehemently refuted some of these claims, saying it has “become an all-too-convenient scapegoat for project failures or inefficiencies”.
Despite this, the minister is now giving more power to departments when it comes to procuring IT goods or services.
Published in the Government Gazette, dated 23 May, Malatsi says, after consultation with the relevant stakeholders and the finance minister, he is introducing regulation amendments in section 23 of the State Information Technology Act, 1998.
As per the amendment, regulation 17.8 will take effect from 1 June 2025, in an effort for faster turnaround time and lower cost.
It states that if a designated department, having complied with regulation 8.1.1, is of the opinion that the agency will not be able to satisfy its requirements; the department – in accordance with the Public Finance Management Act and its regulations and instructions, the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act and its regulations, or the Public Procurement Act, 2024 (Act No 28 of 2024) – may give written notice to the agency.
According to the gazette, the notice must set out the business case and the user requirement specifications, and the period within which the department requires the IT goods or services.
Once the notification has been received, SITA must respond to the department within 10 working days, indicating whether it has the capacity to procure the IT goods or services required by the department within the specified period. The agency must also provide the procurement schedule and costing, as envisaged in the regulation.
If the agency does not respond within 10 working days; state it is unable to meet the department’s requirements within the specified period; or is able to procure the IT goods or services within the specified period, but the client department is of the opinion it can procure the goods faster and cheaper, the department may proceed to procure the required IT goods or services in accordance with the general procurement prescripts, after notifying the agency and the relevant treasury of its decision.
“When a department acquires goods or services in terms of regulation 17.8.2, the department must comply with any applicable standards set by the agency in terms of section 7(6)(a) of the Act and are in force at that time.
“If the department receives a notice from the agency in terms of regulation 17.8.2 that the agency is able to procure the information technology goods or services required by the department within the period specified by the department and provides the procurement schedule for doing so, and the department does not elect to procure the required information technology goods or services in accordance with the general procurement prescripts, then if the department wishes the agency to effect the procurement, the department must notify the agency to proceed with the procurement through the agency, in terms of the applicable provisions of these regulations.”
SITA is an entity of the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, and sits as a central pillar of the state’s IT procurement, acting as the backend office of government ICT. It is also responsible for developing, operating and/or maintaining ICT services consumed by government departments.
However, its governance, performance and existence have continuously been called into question, amid delayed tender awards, irregular spending and high staff attrition.
Speaking to ITWeb after news that the DHA was looking to sever ties with SITA, Mark Walker, IDC VP for data and analytics, Middle East, Turkey and Africa, and MD of IDC SA, said it would not be easy for departments to cut ties with the agency, unless the minister gazetted such a move.
Walker added it would be a wise move for departments to unbundle themselves from SITA. “SITA has been notorious…it has had several MDs, there is no consistency, it has faced corruption claims, even previous leadership faced threats.
“I think SITA needs to be scrapped, to be honest. Various departments can enter negotiations…they get issued a budget every year by the government, it goes through the ministry, and it gets approved – there is a process for that. If they overspend, there should be consequence to that.”
Walker explained the idea behind SITA was to streamline government purchasing and standardise processes, acting as a bulk purchaser and negotiating bigger discounts. This has not happened. “Government [departments] end up paying more.
“SITA, ultimately, unless it is strongly managed directly, with massive oversight and transparency, is acting as a mechanism to stall purchasing, inflate prices and allow for illicit practices.”
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