The State IT Agency (Sita) has said that recent regulatory changes giving government departments the option to procure IT services from entities other than itself have been misinterpreted.
In a statement, Sita spokesman Tlali Tlali said government departments are still required to approach Sita first for their IT needs, with the option to procure services from elsewhere only available should the agency not be able to fulfil their requirements.
“The narrative that departments are now free to bypass Sita entirely is misleading,” Tlali said in the statement. “The new regulation does not grant government departments unfettered access to open markets. Departments can only seek alternative service providers when Sita fails to meet their requirements in terms of pricing and/or turnaround times.”
Communications minister Solly Malatsi in May gazetted changes to the Sita Act, disrupting the agency’s legal stranglehold as the sole provider of core IT services for all of government.
Several government departments, including police and home affairs, have bemoaned inefficiencies in Sita’s procurement processes, accusing the agency of delaying and even derailing critical IT projects.
Slow response times, higher than market pricing and subpar security practices are among the litany of criticisms that have been made by government departments. Both home affairs and police went as far as approaching parliament to seek formal exemptions from using Sita.
Tlali described Malatsi’s changes as a paradigm shift for public sector IT procurement in South Africa. “With this move, the minister has set a new course for government ICT procurement. The regulation has ignited a wave of discussion, with some heralding it as overdue reform and others fearing it spells trouble for Sita,” he said.
Automation
Sita has responded to the criticism by seeking to reform its procurement processes. According to Tlali, the agency is introducing automation to its “supply-chain environment” to address inefficiency issues. The project is currently under construction, with a September launch planned for full deployment of the new services.
A new procurement system may not be enough to turn things around at Sita, as there are deeper problems at the agency, including corruption. In a standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) meeting in parliament in May, minister Malatsi said there was a lack of accountability and internal controls. This had opened the door to corruption.
“It would seem, based on observations and interactions with various members of the board, that the lack of accountability – perhaps aggravated by the frequent changes which have happened either at ministerial or board level – provided an arena for opportunism and even nefarious or mischievous things to happen,” Malatsi told the committee.
“Sometimes, the nonexistence of basic architecture is not a sign of incompetence or non-professionalism, but a rather a deliberate attempt at distorting accountability.”
According to Tlali, some of the criticism aimed at Sita regarding its “monopoly” over government IT is unwarranted, considering that only 37% of the state’s IT needs are met by the agency. He did, however, acknowledge that Sita has a lot of work to do to rebuild relationships between itself and other government entities.
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“Automation alone will not be enough. Sita must rethink its service models, focus on cost-effectiveness and strengthen relationships with departments. Government departments must use their new procurement freedom wisely, ensuring that it results in better outcomes rather than creating unnecessary duplication and inefficiencies,” said Tlali. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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