The State IT Agency (SITA) needs to keep up with the pace of digitisation and technological advances, Parliament's portfolio committee on higher education and training has directed. This marks yet another cautionary note levelled towards the government agency in as many weeks.
While SITA has embarked on a "just do it" approach to maximise its value to the public and government, the agency continues to receive backlash over not meeting deadlines and fulfilling some of its mandates.
Last month, telecoms and postal services minister Siyabonga Cwele warned SITA not to succumb to endless consultation processes, which can result in the agency being side-lined.
This week, it was the turn of the portfolio committee on higher education and training, which has challenged the agency to address its challenges to remain relevant to the state organs it serves.
According to the portfolio committee, capacity challenges at SITA need to be attended to as a matter of urgency.
The committee is on a week-long oversight visit to Pretoria, which included a visit to the government agency. During the visit, it was informed that SITA hosts all the transversal systems that government uses, but some were outdated and complex to operate.
Danny Kekana, committee acting chairperson, said SITA is the one entity that must not fail as the world enters the digital era.
"The committee welcomes what it has witnessed at SITA and the systems they are using, but more work needs to be done in order to keep up with the pace of digitisation and technological advances. The progress SITA has made on many fronts, particularly when it comes to education departments, is something to marvel on."
Historic woes
Established in 1999, SITA is the agency government set up to consolidate ICT spend and advisory, and make sure all government departments have one point of contact in terms of ICT.
Over the years, however, SITA has been labelled useless because of the lack of top-level stability, allegations of corruption and claims of irregular procurement practices.
An application to the Public Protector requesting an investigation into allegations of maladministration, fruitless and wasteful expenditure at SITA further painted a grim picture about the work conditions at the state ICT procurement arm.
SITA workers who call themselves "SITAzens" claimed failure to find a solution to some of SITA's issues will result in the agency being added to the growing list of failing state-owned enterprises.
The IT agency's delay to clear the backlog of outstanding certificates for the National Certificate Vocational qualification owed to graduates was also challenged by the portfolio committee.
"South Africa should move with the times and SITA should be an enabler for such a transition. Production of certificates should be seamless and within reasonable time. Poor children, especially if they pass, should not be held back by lack of certificates," said Kekana.
Going forward, SITA has been tasked with driving a national e-government strategy and roadmap.
The telecoms and postal services department also expects the agency to finally deliver broadband services to eight districts identified as priority areas for the pilot phase of the ambitious SA Connect.
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