State Information Technology Agency (SITA): briefing

Meeting report

PUBLIC SERVICE AND ADMINISTRATION PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE; PROVINCIAL AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE: JOINT MEETING
25 June 2003
STATE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AGENCY: BRIEFING

Acting Chairperson: Mr R J B Mohlala (ANC)

Documents handed out:
SITA Presentation

SUMMARY
The Public Service and Administration Portfolio Committee and the Provincial and Local Government Portfolio Committee, in a joint sitting, welcomed the State Information Technology Agency to brief them on their client interface. SITA explained their structure, goals, and challenges. They hoped to expand their client base and collect 100% of their Debt. The Committee inquired about SITA's work on the ground and how they were tangibly improving services, especially on the local government level. SITA explained their expansion to the local government sphere and the implementation of Government Common Core Network.

MINUTES
Mr M Mtshwene, General Manager: Client Interface, presented on behalf of SITA. The Presentation which focused on their client interface. Please refer to attached presentation

The figures in the presentation have not been audited. Their annual report to be released in August will contain the audited version.

Mr M Radebe, Group Executive: Corporate Affairs, emphasised that the five critical issues, found in the operating model, defined the key areas of performance within SITA. They were awaiting a transfer of R500m from the Department of Finance, which they were in continuos engagement over.

He noted another challenge that SITA faced was the huge disparities between urban and rural areas in terms of an IT deficit. They needed to use IT with systems of poverty alleviation, which may necessitate partnerships with companies such as Telkom and Eskom.

With their learnership programs, they have begun a drive to identify technological institutes to engage as partners with SITA. They have focused on technikons and universities in marginalised areas.

Discussion
Mr M Grobler (DA) commented that he was glad debt collection had increased so dramatically. The presentation had shown percentages of the arrears, he asked what the arrears were in Rand terms. He also wondered if the worst payers was provincial or national government.

He found it disturbing that there were leaks recently in the pricing and tendering process. He wondered if there were any procedures to protect against this, and if anyone had been caught.

Mr L Kgwele (ANC) noted that the presentation stated that IT could be used to improve service delivery. He had witnessed the valuable work that SITA was doing, but was concerned that it was not being communicated to members of the public. SITA needed to be commended for their work with SMME and Black Empowerment, especially with respect to regional service development.

He asked three questions. First, if there was skills transferring within the organisation itself, in terms of human capital. Second, commented on their proposal to substantially decrease the cost of government administration, and asked if local government was included in these plans. Thirdly, he asked how SITA supported SAPS, and if they had any technology, which was used to fight crime.

Mr T Abrahams (ANC), expressed his appreciation for SITA's work. However, he was concerned about tangible service delivery on the ground. The Committee had paved the way for them to extend their services to local government, and he asked where they were at the moment.

He requested elaboration on the comments that the SITA Act was a factor in revenue erosion.

Rev A Goosen (ANC) commented on his dislike of power point presentations as they tended to drag away from the core issues. The issue of primary importance was service delivery on the ground. When the Committee visited municipalities they found that support was needed. He asked what services SITA actually rendered to local government and in what way they actually impacted service delivery.

Mr B Mthembu (ANC) noted that in the presentation they indicated that they owned 5% of the industry, and 95% was still in the hands of the private sector. Given that providing services to government was the rationale behind the creation of SITA, what challenges did they experience in making substantive inroads in increasing their share in the industry.

Mr T Mokgatla, General Manager: Local Government, responded to the questions regarding local government. The SITA Act gave them the opportunity to enter into the business sphere. They had developed a strategy of how to include local government, which had to be approved by the SITA Executive Committee by end of July 2003. They aimed to understand the Integrated Development Plans of the local governments and integrate them into a master plan of how they may assist. They employed an account management system, where they visited government and introduced SITA and discovered what role they could play in assistance.

SITA is part of a coalition for service management programs, which includes CSG and SALGA among others. They were trying to create multi-purpose centers to create service that can cut across all levels. Right now, they had identified 100 municipalities. The Developmental Bank of South Africa had set aside money to deploy a local government network. SITA was in the process of negotiating and determining which of the 100 municipalities were in need of funds.

Mr Mtshwene stated that they would be able to make the rand amount of arrears available at a later time. Time-permitting he could present the slides they had about their work with SAPS.

He then commented on extending their customer base. They were beginning to service agencies like the MNR and the DNE, this was value-adding as it was moving beyond their mandate. The SITA Act allowed them to delineate between their mandate and optional services. The 5% of the market that it covered, should be 100%. At this point, various players in industry were already providing these services to government. SITA was currently negotiating with the National Treasury with matching industry players.

He responded to Mr Kgwele's first question. Each member of senior management was required to participate in a mentorship program. This programme allowed them to introduce new blood and do succession planning, which was a challenge in a highly technical environment. They also had an internship programme.

Mr Radebe stated that their tendering had been operating for one year. They were now looking at how the process had performed and the lessons to be learned. The people that submit tendering claims always believed that theirs was legitimate, therefore it was a contentious area. They hoped to ensure that in the future they would hold briefing sessions for those who did not get the tender to explain what they were lacking.

They assisted SAPS with the identification of criminals with the AFM (auto-fingerprinting mechanism). It was being piloted in Gauteng, and will go to the rest of the country in the near future.

Ms L Maloney (ANC) stated that we could not become a country of houses and taps, as strictly agencies of finances and statistics. SITA's core business was not cost counting, they should instead be providing analysis and information as a critical aspect of government. They already expected them as a state agency to apply generally accepted accounting principles. They were not solely in the business of making money and they must resist being reduced to this.

Mr Radebe stated that they were working on a social partnership programme and were well aware of their broader mandate to make government more efficient.

Previous figure indicate that the IT industry was a total of R35billion, and R14billion of this was government. SITA's share was R2.5billion, which they wanted to increase in the future

Mr Mtshwele discussed the Government Common Core Network (GCCN) which once implemented will decrease communication and transportation expenses within government. The deployment of GCCN began in November 2002. It is anticipated that at the end of 2004 all of the government departments will be included in the GCCN, including local government. He requested an opportunity to present the GCCN to the Committee at a later date.

The meeting was adjourned.