As the industry reacts to government's split of ICT administration, incoming ministers to some of its other technology-related portfolios face a raft of challenges ranging from appointing leaders to implementing key projects.
Former minister in the Presidency Collins Chabane takes over the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), which has yet to appoint a permanent government CIO since Michelle Williams resigned in April 2011. Walter Mudau, chief director of operations within the office of the government CIO, has been filling the role in an acting capacity.
Adrian Schofield, ICT veteran, says Chabane needs to "work miracles" to build momentum for the DPSA's technology objectives, including challenges to the State IT Agency, which has seen 17 chief executives since its inception in 1999.
Chabane arrives at a department which has lacked meaningful progress under predecessor Lindiwe Sisulu, including the creation of a security framework. Government also scrapped plans to develop its own Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS), despite spending an estimated R1 billion on the much-delayed project.
Schofield notes "the decision to scrap the IFMS project and go for a commercial-off-the-shelf solution is an indicator this agency might perform better in the private sector".
Meanwhile, Naledi Pandor returns as minister of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) - a post she held between 2009 and 2012. The department recently launched the first of 64 antennas that will make up SA's new radio telescope - the MeerKat - as a precursor to the much larger square kilometre array (SKA).
Making sure stakeholders fulfil their roles, says Schofield, will be crucial in making SKA "happen on time and within budget". He adds that, although the project will take a decade to complete, the foundation established over its first few years will determine its ultimate success.
Building blocks
Schofield notes that while SKA might take most of the spotlight, the DST also needs to "achieve progress in other areas", including revamping the Technology Innovation Agency, which recently dismissed members of its executive following maladministration allegations.
"Nurturing innovation in South Africa has become more of a discussion topic than an action programme. This must be corrected quickly, as there are far too many viable projects being stifled through lack of support from the very agency created to facilitate them," he says.
Meanwhile, adds Schofield, Chabane will "need to understand that no enterprise - especially one as large and diverse as the government - can function efficiently and effectively unless it has appropriate technology deployed throughout".
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