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Mohapi praises SITA's stability

Simnikiwe Mzekandaba
By Simnikiwe Mzekandaba, IT in government editor
Durban, 31 Oct 2017
SITA CEO Setumo Mohapi.
SITA CEO Setumo Mohapi.

Government's State IT Agency (SITA) is now a stable entity, says CEO Setumo Mohapi.

Mohapi made the comment as he presented an update on SITA's progress to delegates attending the 12th instalment of the government technology (GovTech) conference in Durban on Monday.

He explained at GovTech 2017 that as much as things may still be frustrating, there is stability at the government IT arm. "We are trying hard to keep this vehicle stable...there are a lot of things that are happening within our environment as we try to clean up and drive effectiveness of governance issues."

Mohapi pointed to his reign at SITA, at which he is the second "longest serving" CEO. In 2015, he became the 18th person to take on the role.

"Next year this time, I will be two days away from being the longest serving CEO of SITA, board willing," he said.

According to telecommunications and postal services minister Siyabonga Cwele, SITA's role and relevance as a state ICT entity is more profound today than at any time before in the country.

SITA is one of six state-owned companies that report to the Department of Telecommunications and Postal Services, which is managed by Cwele.

SITA must answer the question of how do we sustain our growth and development into the future using emerging technologies to improve the services to meet the needs of our citizens and to remain globally competitive in the digital economy, said the minister.

When looking at the progress achieved at GovTech, Mohapi acknowledged there is still a lot to be done, but he believes it has turned a corner at a strategic level. "This GovTech, for example, is a bit of a rebirth because the corner we have turned is moving away from it being a talk shop.

"We owe it to the citizens; we owe it to the taxpayer and public service to make better use of technology and to change the metrics of success. We would like every member of the industry to come out of this GovTech with at least an understanding of specific public policy problems as seen by government and citizens."

He said one of the biggest problems was the state and age of the digital apps used to monitor service delivery in all sectors from education to economics. "We have to work on these issues and solve them together."

SITA would also like to commit to a short-term roadmap of implementation. This short-term roadmap is not a five-year plan as to how solutions will be built. A 12-month plan is a doable plan, he said.

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