Procurement guru dumps Sita

Johannesburg, 18 Jan 2008

The State IT Agency (SITA) has confirmed that procurement specialist Fantas Mobu has resigned from the organisation.

Mobu is widely credited with implementing the procurement policies and procedures that helped ex-SITA CEO and current Home Affairs director-general Mavuso Msimang root out corruption within the agency.

"Mobu has done a tremendous job at SITA. He has also brought in some very good people who he believes are ready to take over from him. We are sad to see him go; however, he feels it's time to move on and we cannot stand in his way," says SITA chief of regulatory affairs and procurement, Peter Pedlar.

SITA secured Mobu from the SA Post Office in 2004 as part of Msimang's restructuring efforts. He was originally employed as managing executive of procurement.

However, when Msimang reduced the number of executives to a team of five, Mobu moved down a step in the organisation.

Last year, new CEO Llewellyn Jones said he intended to extend the number of people on the agency's executive team. However, Mobu lost the executive procurement position to Pedlar.

Pedlar says Mobu will leave the agency at the end of the month. Mobu resigned on Monday, 14 January.

It is not known where Mobu is going, but he is rumoured to be staying close to the public sector.