Page 22 - Service Delivery Review_Volume 14_Number 3_2022

CGITCPF Case Study

ICT Governance Comes Full Circle

In this case study Makabongwe Siziba reflects on the lessons learned from the imple-
mentation of the Corporate Governance of ICT Policy Framework and highlights some of
the new approaches to a revised policy framework.

Introduction and background
■ A strategic plan stating the department’s core
Introduced back in 2013, the Public Service Corporate Gov- objectives and an information plan that supports
ernance of ICT Policy Framework (CGICTPF) was as ambi- the strategic plan
tious as it was ground-breaking in what it sought to achieve. ■ An IT plan supporting the information plan
The CGICTPF, also referred to as the “ICT governance frame- ■ An operational plan that enables the
work” in this case study, was subjected to a review process implementation of the IT plan and information
after five years of implementation across national and pro- management.
vincial government departments. In essence, the Public
Service ICT governance framework was a response to the The Problem
long-standing challenges that had been periodically raised
over the governance and management of ICT resources by The problem? At the time of developing and implement-
government departments.
ing the CGICTPF in 2012 little progress had been made in
aligning ICT resources and the strategic direction of depart-
Executed by the Government Information Technology Of- ments as per the PSRs of 2001 and subsequent policies.
ficers Council (GITOC) and overseen by the Department Much of the blame was attributed to little to no governance
of Public Service and Administration (DPSA), the CGICTPF of ICT resources in the departments. For example, the ex-
sought to build systematically the governance linkages be- planatory parts of the 2012 CGICTPF lamented that “little
tween management of investments in technology resourc- [had] changed with respect to the governance of ICT in the
es and the strategic objectives of departments. Overall, the Public Service” since the publication of the Presidential Re-
expected outcomes from implementation of the ICT gov- view Commission (PRC, 1998) on the Reform and Transfor-
ernance framework were to be in line with what is referred mation of the Public Service.
to as the ICT House of Values:
Published in 1998, the PRC was ground-breaking and wide
ranging in its analysis and diagnosis of the fault lines in
the Apartheid Public Service four year into the New South
Africa. In particular, the section of the PRC report on In-
formation Management, Systems and Technology (IMST)
complained about fragmentation in the use of technology
resources within the Public Service as well as the lack of
a government-wide strategic approach in efforts to build a
new public service dispensation. Despite the appreciation
of ICT as a strategic government resource for service deliv-
ery, the status quo remained unchanged for several years.
A decade after the PRC the Auditor General raised similar
complaints in the 2008/9 and 2009/10 findings on the
state of ICTs in the Public Service. The recommendation
uncannily echoed those of the PRC and similarly recom-
mended that:

■ A government-wide Governance of ICT Framework
According to The Machinery of Government, published
by the Learning and Knowledge Management Unit of the should be put in place. This should implement a
DPSA in 2003, the ICT House of Values provides a set of national ICT strategy to address ICT risks based on
principles that were meant to guide the operationalisation defined processes and standards
of the Public Service Regulations (PSRs) issued by the Min- ■ The Governance of ICT roles and responsibilities
ister for Public Service and Administration (MPSA) in 2001 should be defined and implemented to ensure
under the Public Service Act. Consequently, Proclamation adequate Public Service ICT enablement.
103 of 1994, which gives effect to these particular PSRs, re-
quired every department to have the following ICT related
plans in place:

22 Volume 14 No.3 of 2022 | SERVICE DELIVERY REVIEW