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Date : 16/09/2005
Source: Ministry for Public Service and Administration
Title: Fraser-Moleketi: Announcement of SITA's results for 2004/05 financial year


Address by the Minister for Public Service and Administration, Ms Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, on the occasion of the announcement of SITA’s results for 2005, Park Hyatt Hotel, Rosebank

Chairperson of SITA, Ms Thenjiwe Chikane,
Former Chairperson Ms Zodwa Manase,
Directors General,
SITA CEO Mr Mavuso Msimang and his Executive team,
Representatives from various media houses,
Ladies and gentlemen,

I appreciate that so many of you have set aside time to be with us this morning to be part of this announcement. The invitation was not only for us to celebrate achievements, but also to look at the progress that State Information Technology Agency (SITA) is making within the broad machinery of our democratic system. I hope that you will not leave here disappointed.

In their speeches, SITA’s outgoing Chairperson Zodwa Manase and the CEO Mavuso Msimang have referred variously on the need for SITA to be responsive to the needs of Government to deliver services more efficiently and expediently to our citizens. And this is the real reason that Government and its various organs and agencies such as SITA, exist: to be the conduit for making the lives of our people easier and more worthwhile.

In my budget speech earlier this year in Parliament, I called on all those present to be the change they want to see, as in the words of Mahatma Ghandi. This calls for all of us to adopt a mindset of transformation. It is only in a transforming environment that we are able to get better, and to better appreciate the progress we are making.

CEO Mavuso Msimang has told you that the 2004/2005 annual report represents SITA’s first year of transformation. And I can reveal to you that I met with the Board and management of SITA as far back as January 2004 to discuss, among others, the restructuring of the organisation. It was during that discussion and subsequent others, that a definite road for the transformation of the organisation was decided on. And primary to this decision was for SITA to respond to the national agenda on how technology can be used to the benefit of all our citizens.

I am glad to say that following the commencement of the organisational restructuring at SITA, this year I was able to report extensively to parliament on a number of cutting-edge solutions that SITA is and has tested on behalf of various government departments. These pilots are primarily in mobile and wireless technology, and the results of these tests have been encouraging. A lot remains to be done still, however, and one of the challenges is for SITA to ensure a wide acceptance of the direction the organisation is taking, especially emphasis on developing citizen-focussed projects. Within SITA the transformation process has been christened Tswelopele in Sesotho, and its English equivalent is “progress”. The pilots as conducted within the Departments of Health, Home Affairs and others, represent real progress in how we use technology as a tool for national development. And as much as a lot remains to be done still, SITA has demonstrated a willingness and ability to respond to the objectives of the e-Government strategy, which are citizen convenience, cost-effectiveness and increased productivity.

The recent annual meeting of the Presidential International Advisory Council on IT and Development, which was held in Madikwe, brought together a range of organisations and mindsets to discuss how information an communications technology (ICT) should be developed such that it addresses the needs of the country. This meeting took place under the same need for a transformational state in the ICT sector, and in various other sectors, which I spoke of earlier.

This meeting is a sharing of ideas and experiences between the state and various public and private bodies, for in moving forward we must do so together, with a common goal and aim for the country.

In developing the pilots at various Departments that I spoke about earlier, SITA collaborated with institutions such as the Centre for Public Service Innovation (CPSI) and the Meraka Institute of the Centre for the Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The country needs more such collaborations.

Early this year I visited the Eastern Cape Province to launch one of a number of Multi-purpose Community Centres planned for implementation throughout the country. During that launch it became clear that much innovation is needed still to overcome the challenge of lack of infrastructure in large parts of our country, here not even electricity connection is available. The motto of the Department of Public Service and Administration is Batho Pele, and this is a call for the public service to put people first.

For us to rise to that challenge we need, however, to recognise that most of our people are still resident in far-flung and some times hard to reach corners of our country. It is these people who need our presence and services. This represents a mammoth challenge for government to extend services and convenience to all, and a commitment to invest in infrastructure development.

It is also a challenge that most of our public sector companies and agencies need to rise to, and for them it means having a meaningful presence within the local government sphere, where most of the delivery takes place.

I am encouraged, though, that the progress we are making, as evidenced by the many gains SITA has reported today, will be far-reaching. The greatest nations in the world have entrusted their progress in the human spirit, and by investing in our people on the ground, at all levels, we are making an invest that the will bare dividends for the country well into the future.

Ms Chikane, Mr Msimang and the management of SITA, there is no doubt in my mind that our country is experiencing an era of great achievements. The building of strong and motivated institutions, inspired by the universal goal of serving humanity, will take us there even faster.

I thank you.

Issued by: Ministry for Public Service and Administration
16 September 2005
   

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