The Pretoria High Court in Gauteng, South Africa, has ruled in favour of the directors of the State IT Agency (SITA) who were dismissed or removed in July 2023 by Mondli Gungubele, the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies. The court order reinstates the directors and suspends the minister’s decision to install an interim board of directors.
SITA, an agency of the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, is the government’s IT procurement entity. Over the course of its operation, it has encountered numerous challenges.
These issues range from an inability to fill key C-suite roles including the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Chief Information Officer (CIO), and Chief Operations Officer (COO), to more serious problems such as allegations of corruption and mismanagement, protracted procurement processes, leadership instability, and low-quality service delivery.
In July 2023, Gungubele suspended several SITA board members due to a salary increase for the former CEO, Bongani Mabaso.
In July 2023, Mondli Gungubele, the Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, dismissed or removed several directors of the State IT Agency (SITA). However, the Pretoria High Court ruled in favor of the ousted directors and consequently reinstated them, suspending the minister’s decision to establish an interim board of directors.
SITA, a government-owned IT procurement entity under the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, has struggled with a range of issues during its operation, including unfulfilled critical C-Suite positions like Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Chief Information Officer (CIO), and Chief Operations Officer (COO). Apart from these, it also faces allegations of corruption and mismanagement, overcomplicated procurement processes, instability at leadership levels, and subpar service delivery.
The reason for the board members’ suspension was a salary increase for the then CEO, Bongani Mabaso. Mabaso’s five-year fixed-term contract ended just eight months after his appointment in December 2022. He started his term in April 2023 and left in December 2023. The board had raised his annual salary from R3.5 million ($184,570) to R4.5 million ($237,305), an increase that was reportedly beyond the company’s prescribed salary range.
Minister Gungubele argued that the SITA board failed to adhere to the memorandum of incorporation, calling it a severe dereliction of duties and violation of governance.
Following the dismissal of the directors by the Minister, Makano Mosidi, the Board Chair, along with several other board members, chose to contest the decision in court.
Responding to the latest development, Tsholofelo Bodlani, a member of the National Assembly, stated, “The Minister’s interference with the board’s operations has led us to this point. While the board should be held accountable to the executive authority, its independence needs to be safeguarded.” Bodlani further remarked that “the DA is closely monitoring the situation.”
