The State Information Technology Agency (SITA) has added Itumeleng Draaijer as executive for strategy and corporate services to its appointments list, effective November.
Draaijer was appointed withnewchief digital officer (CDO) Portia Matsena, rounding up the six executive committee positions under the executive leadership programme led by SITA MD Magatho Mello.
The appointments aim to address the executive leadership gaps and churn identified among the factors that created instability within the organisation.
SITA’s executive leadership programme has also resulted in the appointments of Phumzile Njoko, executive: supply chain management; Gabaiphiwe Tabane, executive: client engagement; Bongumusa Kumalo, executive: network, cloud and platforms; and Yolande van Biljon as chief financial officer.
The appointments, says SITA, bring together strategy, digital transformation, financial stewardship, responsible procurement, client engagement and technology infrastructure as part of a single programme of institutional renewal.
“The work of stabilising SITA is inseparable from preparing it to serve government in a rapidly-changing digital era. These appointments are about building an executive team that can govern responsibly, execute with discipline and understand the significance of SITA’s mandate to the country,” comments Mello.
“Each executive brings depth of experience to a critical area of the organisation. Together, they strengthen the leadership capability SITA needs to deepen accountability, build institutional confidence and support government’s digital transformation. Our responsibility is to ensure technology delivers practical public value, protects South Africa’s digital interests and enables the state to serve people, more effectively.”
For Draaijer and Matsena, their roles are to drive strategic and corporate services and digital leadership, respectively.
SITA notes Draaijer brings more than 20 years of managerial and professional experience, including over a decade in senior leadership roles spanning corporate strategy, organisational performance, stakeholder relations and business operations.
Her career includes leadership experience at the Development Bank of Southern Africa, South African Bureau of Standards, National Prosecuting Authority and Accenture.
At SITA, Draaijer is expected to connect the agency’s strategic direction with the people, systems and institutional disciplines needed to deliver on its mandate.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the University of Cape Town and an MBA from the Gordon Institute of Business Science. She is also a certified director of the Institute of Directors South Africaand has served as an independent non-executive director and audit committee member.
Meanwhile, new CDO Matsena will lead SITA’s digital transformation agenda and strengthen its ability to support the secure, ethical and purposeful adoption of emerging technologies.
She also brings more than 20 years of leadership experience across banking, national payment systems, government, ICT and large-scale digital transformation.
“South Africa must harness artificial intelligence and digital innovation, while protecting sovereign data, critical infrastructure and the national interest. For SITA, this means ensuring digital systems respond to the country’s social and economic realities, support its developmental priorities and strengthen the ability of the state to serve all citizens,” states Mello.
“The six executive appointments made during the financial year bring together the capabilities required to strengthen SITA internally and deepen its contribution to this national transformation.”
SITA’s newly-constituted leadership portfolio spans strategy and corporate services, digital transformation, financial stewardship, supply chain management, client engagement, and the networks, cloud services and platforms that underpin the digital state.
“A strong executive team is not simply a collection of individual portfolios. It must operate as one leadership system, with every function contributing to the same organisational purpose,” Mello continues.
“We are bringing together the capabilities required to strengthen SITA from within, while improving how we support government. The task ahead is to translate this leadership capacity into consistent execution, dependable digital services and outcomes that South Africans can experience in their interactions with the state.”
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