Members of the Government Information Technology Council (GITOC) met this weekend at a Ministerial workshop hosted by Minister for Public Service and Administration, Mr Roy Padayachie.
The GITO Council is the principal inter-departmental forum focusing on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Information Management (IM) in the South African Public Service, supporting and guiding the GCIO to operationalise the government IT and IM policies and provide feedback on their implementation and updates.
The GITOC is comprised of Chief Information Officers (CIOs) from national government departments and provincial Government Information Technology Officers (GITO) as default members with all other public entities CIO’s admitted as associate members.
Attending the workshop was the Director-General (DG) for the Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) Mr Mashwahle Diphofa, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) Mr Blake Mosley-Lefatola, as well as members of the Ministerial Advisory Panel on Information Communication Technology (ICT).
In his opening remarks, Minister Padayachie regarded the body as central to the implementation of Information Communication Technology (ICT) initiatives within government. Crucial to the Council the Minister noted is in its role in ensuring government connectivity which would in turn enhance public service delivery.
On the agenda were issues of ICT procurement, ICT governance, ICT projects as well as ICT information security. A structured process within the regulatory framework for the provision of transversal tenders is near completion on the matter of procurement processes. On projects, the development of a government-wide project management framework is planned for completion within the course of 2012.
Priorities on information security for the year include the appointment of the core committee to deal with sensitive matters of security, the promulgation of the Information Systems Security and the revision of the Minimum Information Security Standards (MISS) into the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Framework.
Governance priorities include the establishment of an architecture governance model under the Government Wide Enterprise Architecture system. Other priorities include the finalisation of the Government Wide ICT Strategy, the implementation of proposed transformation changes in particular, legislative amendments and constitutional changes.
Prevalent in the discussions was the need to create a common understanding of the role of the Council within government with the matter declared a priority for resolve within this financial year. Other pertinent questions for resolve by the Council include its relationship with other government Information Technology (IT) bodies including the Office of the Public Service Information Communication Technology Management (PSICTM) within the DPSA, the SITA and other government departments.
For more information contact:
Dumisani Nkwamba
Tel: 012 336 1074
Cell: 082 885 9448
E-mail: dumisanin@dpsa.gov.za
Minister Padayachie hosts Government Information Technology Council (GITOC) Workshop
