The expanded investigation into the integrated financial management system (IFMS) tender is a vital step towards upholding accountability and transparency in the public sector, says the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Public Service.
The scope of the Special Investigating Unit’s (SIU’s) investigation has been expanded to include the State IT Agency (SITA) and Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), which form part of the public sector joint-initiative to deliver the IFMS project.
The expanded proclamation now enables the SIU to examine actions dating back to 1 July 2013, as opposed to the original 1 January 2016 start date.
In a statement, the committee notes that government ICT procurement arm SITA has consistently received qualified audit outcomes, ultimately regressing to a disclaimer audit opinion for the 2023/24 financial year.
It adds that SITA has been accused of slowing down, rather than speeding up, government’s digitisation efforts.
According to Jan de Villiers, portfolio committee chairperson, the alleged corruption related to IFMS has negatively impacted efforts to advance digital transformation in the public service.
De Villiers notes that government departments are still using manual systems to provide human resource, financial and supply chain management services, despite the committee’s long-standing call for a centralised system.
Siloed and fragmented systems, which are still primarily paper-based, undermine professionalisation and efforts to build a capable state, he adds.
“By broadening the scope to include additional departments and by covering a longer period of time, the SIU will be better positioned to expose maladministration, irregularities and systemic weaknesses in the procurement processes linked to the IFMS.”
The committee urged the SIU to fast-track its investigation to ensure that, where wrongdoing is confirmed, those implicated are suspended and, where necessary, arrested.
The committee states it is confident that, where wrongdoing is established, the SIU will use its mandate to pursue civil recoveries, make appropriate disciplinary referrals and recommend criminal prosecution in collaboration with law enforcement agencies.
The committee says it will exercise its oversight to ensure accountability is upheld at every stage of the process.
“We support this new approach,” says De Villiers, “and reaffirm our commitment to monitoring the progress of the expanded investigation to help ensure outcomes are communicated transparently to the public. We see this as an important step towards restoring public confidence in government systems as well as professionalising and modernising the state.”
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