Magatho Mello takes on the role of SITA MD.
New chief executives have been appointed for the State IT Agency (SITA) and Film and Publication Board (FPB), the communications ministry announced today.
The new appointments are Magatho Mello, who takes on the role of managing director (MD) at SITA, while Nketheleni Norman Gidi will head up the FPB as its CEO.
They have both been appointed on a five-year fixed-term contract, says the ministry, following approval by Cabinet.
The department also noted that Cabinet has approved the designation of Themba Phiri as Sentech board chairperson, for the remainder of his term of office. Phiri is joined by Dr Lebogang Mphahlele-Ntsasa and Dr Sylvia Sathekge, who are appointed as non-executive board directors for a three-year period.
These appointments form part of efforts to restore good governance, stability and performance, says a statement from communications minister Solly Malatsi.
The Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT) has oversight of 11 state-owned enterprises.
“The DCDT will support this new leadership team as they assume their roles. The department will also continue to strengthen oversight so that SITA, Sentech and the FPB contribute fully to South Africa’s digital transformation agenda and to the broader goal of restoring good governance in the public sector.”
The department notes the new appointment brings “much-needed stability” to SITA’s leadership.
The SITA MD position has been vacant since 2023 and has been filled in an acting capacity until now.
The entity’s last permanent boss was Dr Bongani Andy Mabaso, who vacated the position eight months after taking the top job.
Communications and digital technologies minister Solly Malatsi. (Photograph by Lesley Moyo)
An entity of the DCDT, SITA sits as a central pillar of government’s IT procurement arm. However, it has been plagued by leadership instability over the course of its more than 20-year history.
At the time of his appointment, Mabaso became the first permanent MD since Dr Setumo Mohapi’s exit in March 2019.
The government IT procurement arm found itself at the centre of a salary disagreement scandal when deputy minister Mondli Gungubele, who was the shareholder on behalf of the State, decided to remove SITA’s board chairperson and several other directors.
The friction between Gungubele and the SITA board, which culminated in the shake-up, was prompted by an adjustment to the CEO’s remuneration, which requires the minister’s approval.
It was revealed that the board approved an increase of Mabaso’s remuneration package to R4.5 million per year from the previous R3.5 million earned by his predecessor.
