Corruption in the State IT Agency (SITA) will be harshly dealt with, but the agency will continue to receive all the “necessary support” it needs, says the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA).
Speaking yesterday at the GovTech conference, in Durban, minister Richard Baloyi said the DPSA would deal with all issues and complaints regarding the agency.
“We will be unequivocal when unnecessary mistakes are made, when questionable decisions are made and when companies and individuals, who should wilfully be working with SITA, complain,” he said.
Likening the agency to a failing battery, Baloyi emphasised the entire agency was not corrupt and mismanaged. He added that government would not disband the agency and solutions would be found.
“We are insistent that SITA must be supported to act out its mandate as envisaged by our government, way back in 1998,” he said.
Turnaround time
Baloyi said the anticipated turnaround strategy for the agency would be announced soon. A team was being put together to draw up and implement the programme. Baloyi will lead the task team, which will also comprise of the ministers of communications and defence.
Recounting some of the agency's successes over the past 10 years, Baloyi noted the DPSA would aim to accelerate the agency's progress.
“However, it must be said there is still room for improvement in areas such as pricing for services, quality of service and answering to the proactive requirement from government,” he said.
Fighting corruption
Baloyi called for the increased use of ICT to mitigate against the risks of corruption in government. He added the ICT industry should help government departments adopt technologies that will enable transparency.
“We must ensure issues of trust are sorted out convincingly by addressing confidentiality, security and the general cyber crime threats. The risks to both government and citizens may be huge if not properly addressed and taken care of.”
Baloyi said partnerships between the public and private sectors had become increasingly important and called for a “non-binding unwritten social contract” which will inform how investment in ICT is informed by citizen requirements.
“The voice of the citizens must somehow be channelled such that it is heard and taken into consideration when government services are designed and therefore how ICT gets to support them.”
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