Public Service and Administration responds to ITWeb report on its ICT tender

DPSA regrets the erroneous ITWeb report on its ICT tender

The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) has noted with concern a media article in the online publication ITWeb dated 04 April 2023, headlined “DPSA Bypasses SITA,” and would like to correct the errors insinuated in the article.

The SITA Act states that departments must use SITA for mandatory services and may request SITA optional services or use the SITA transversal contracts. All public entities are allowed to make use of SITA transversal contracts. A Department may engage directly with prospective suppliers based on a user requirement specification approved by the Department. In the BID specification published by the Department, under the mandatory documents, it has been mentioned that the service provider must provide evidence that they are registered under SITA Transversal Contract 1183/2013.

The distinctions that apply in the procurement of ICT goods and services in the Public Sectors, namely, “mandatory” and “non-mandatory” processes and procedures, respectively determine whether procurement should be through the SITA or is decentralised to departments.

The tender which ITWeb referred to falls under the “non-mandatory” ICT procurement route and since its inception, the same procedure has been followed without any fault found by the Auditor-General.

The tender was therefore advertised in compliance with the relevant procurement regulations and procedures.

The department urges ITWeb to exercise due diligence in reporting on government activities to avoid misleading the public and causing unnecessary confusion.

It should also be noted that the DPSA was not contacted for comment before the story was published.