A botched platform designed to showcase apps developed by small South African businesses may get a new lease on life following a “review”.
The department of communications & digital technologies has announced it will seek a new service provider for the DigiTech platform, despite newly appointed minister Solly Malatsi’s previous severe criticism of the project when he was an opposition MP in parliament for the Democratic Alliance.
The department’s goal with the platform, which has been derided for not working properly despite enormous costs involved, was to provide support for technology-focused small and medium businesses through mentorship, access to funding and access to market opportunities.
“The department is finalising the process of appointing a new service provider to take over management of the DigiTech platform,” the department said in a statement.
“The takeover will include the redesign, hosting and maintenance of the platform to ensure that it delivers the high-quality work it was established for as a distribution service for local apps.”
DigiTech came under fire in mid-2023 when the DA – which was then in opposition to the ANC government – revealed that the website, which had cost taxpayers R734 000, was built using a R950 template and didn’t even have rudimentary security features.
Malatsi was critical of the DigiTech platform at the time, saying it looked like a “grade-8 IT project”. The website was inaccessible on Wednesday when TechCentral attempted to connect to it.
‘Operational deficiencies’
“This falls woefully short of what the department promised for this website and indicates a serious lack of skill in its design and construction. The website does not fulfil the function of an app store at all, and instead serves only as a database of locally developed apps (and not a good one at that),” the minister said at the time.
In its statement, the department said its decision to revive the project follows a review of the status of the platform “due to a series of inherent operational deficiencies”.
“We will ensure that the new provider fulfils their contractual obligations to ensure DigiTech fulfils its initial purpose and provides value for SMEs and the public,” said the department. – © 2024 NewsCentral Media
Read next: DA communications minister to bring policy shake-up
