DIRCO ICT strategy; with Deputy Minister

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International Relations

14 September 2022
Chairperson: Mr S Mahumapelo (ANC)
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Meeting Summary

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In a virtual meeting, the Portfolio Committee received a briefing from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) on DIRCO’s information communication technology (ICT) digital implementation strategy for 2020/25.

DIRCO outlined why there had been delays in the implementation of the strategy. It said its ICT digital strategy had been approved in September 2020 at the height of the COVID pandemic, when the world had to adapt to technology and work remotely. During the pandemic, the world experienced a global shortage of semiconductors which were critical components in the production of ICT equipment. This shortage, together with an urgent need for people to work from home, had caused a huge delay in the distribution of ICT equipment to African countries, and DIRCO was equally affected. Other factors included procurement delays due to re-advertisement of projects, the National Treasury moratorium, and vacancies in the Department.

Members asked why DIRCO was transporting ICT equipment to embassies in the USA, since most of the equipment was from the USA. Why did embassies overseas not procure their equipment? Would the new system allow South Africans overseas to access the Department of Home Affairs and solve passport issues at embassies? Would the new ICT system help DIRCO manage its finances better and get a clean audit?

Meeting report

The Chairperson welcomed the Deputy Minister, Ms Candith Mashego-Dlamini, and asked her to lay the foundation for DIRCO’s presentation, particularly on the challenges and progress with the digital implementation strategy.

He asked DIRCO not to be broad when presenting its strategy. It should focus on key points and inform the Committee why implementing it had been so difficult. Unavailability of stock worldwide due to COVID-19 and procurement delays due to re-advertisement of projects had been identified as the main causes for implementation delays. DIRCO had also updated the Committee on the progress of the Ministerial task team on information communication technology (ICT).

The Committee had asked why equipment had to be transported from South Africa to the United States of America (USA) and wanted to know where ICT equipment was procured. It wanted the DIRCO to submit an in-depth implementation plan, with clear timeframes for each ICT project.

Deputy Minister's overview

Deputy Minister Mashego-Dlamini said DIRCO’s ICT digital strategy had been approved in September 2020 at the height of the COVID pandemic, when the world had to adapt to technology and work remotely. During the pandemic, the world experienced a global shortage of semiconductors which were critical components in the production of ICT equipment. This shortage, together with an urgent need for people to work from home, had caused a huge delay in the distribution of ICT equipment to African countries, and DIRCO was equally affected. DIRCO had to ensure ICT governance structures and best practice work were implemented to cover all ICT cooperative governance areas.

DIRCO had identified five key projects as part of the digital strategy, which was central to the ICT infrastructure stability. It had also appointed a service provider for the global network. This appointment would also help curb irregular expenditure, since the old service provider contract had been terminated.

She said DIRCO would finalise a detailed project plan and quickly adapt to digital diplomacy. The implementation of the digital strategy had made significant progress, and this would ensure there would be visible outcomes in the next financial year.

DIRCO’s ICT digital implementation strategy 2022-25

Ms Brenda Molatlhegi, Chief Information Officer (CIO), DIRCO, reported on the progress of the Ministerial ICT task team, which had held interviews with various internal stakeholders to understand the ICT challenges and successes of DIRCO. Targeted work sessions were held with key directorates and management to understand their needs. The task team also had online surveys to reach a wider audience within DIRCO. This process of consultations had led the task team to use various approaches to do ICT benchmarking at a regional and global level, focusing on foreign ministries. It used the ICT development index and the digital transformation index.

Assessment of ICT governance within DIRCO

The assessment focused on three layers of governance -- corporate governance, corporate governance of ICT, and operational ICT management. The assessment was based on the legislative frameworks, prescripts and standards.

(See slides 7 & 8 of the presentation).

The recommendations of the governance structures were:

ICT Steering Committee

Review and ensure appropriate prioritisation of ICT-enabled investment programmes and projects, in line with DIRCO’s strategy and priorities. The ICT Steering Committee needs to monitor and track the status of projects and oversees ICT risks. The steering committee also need to oversee the development and approval of ICT policies and related strategies.

 

ICT Operational Committee

 

There needed to be a delegated team composed of senior officials from the ICT business unit to support the Office of the CIO in managing and coordinating all day-to-day ICT projects, ICT risk management, including business requirements analysis, budgeting, service level agreements, project definitions and specifications, project management, development of the technical architectures, ICT-related strategies, policies and operating procedures for approval by the ICT Steering Committee.

Update on strategic projects and activities 2022/23

  • Digitalisation of business processes for finance and human resources (HR) systems. Based on the moratorium, National Treasury deviation request submitted, and DIRCO was awaiting a response.
  •  E-Submission, digital signatures and records management – In progress with the procurement process.

Challenges in implementation of digital strategy

  • Unavailability of stock all over the world due to COVID-19.
  • Procurement delays due to re-advertisement of projects.
  • National Treasury moratorium.
  • Departmental vacancy rate.

(See presentation for details)

Mr Clayson Monyela, Deputy Director-General (DDG): Public Diplomacy, DIRCO, said some of the projects were long overdue, and DIRCO worked hard to ensure their completion. Officials were meeting daily to track their progress. DIRCO was cognisant that they were behind schedule with implementing the ICT digital strategy, but work was being done to ensure implementation happened speedily.

Discussion

Mr W Faber (DA) said this was long overdue, but what concerned him was since 2020, there had not been a lot of movement. He did not understand why DIRCO was transporting ICT equipment to embassies in the USA, since most of the equipment was from the USA. Was this standard practice? He asked why embassies overseas did not procure their equipment.

Mr X Nqola (ANC) said the world was moving fast regarding digital infrastructure. There had been consultations with ICT stakeholders, and he asked who these stakeholders were and the nature of the consultations. This would help the Portfolio Committee understand to what depth DIRCO had consulted in formulating the digital strategy. He said the presentation did not specify timeframes and when projects would be completed. DIRCO needed to give timeframes for their completion -- this would make the Portfolio Committee’s oversight easier when coming back to this issue. He asked what strategy was in place to address the vacancy rate and internal capacity issues. Lastly, In terms of budgeting, had there been negotiations between DIRCO and National Treasury, and how could the Portfolio Committee assist them with this matter?

Rev K Meshoe (ACDP) asked why DIRCO had readvertised projects that had been delayed, and how the procurement order was made for ICT equipment.

Mr M Chetty (DA) asked if the new system would allow South Africans overseas to access the Department of Home Affairs and solve passport issues at embassies. He asked what else would be upgraded.

Ms B Swarts (ANC) said the Deputy Minister had hinted that they had replaced BT Communications as the service provider. She asked if BT had been handed over to the new service provider, and whether they still had an extension. What arrangements were in place with National Treasury, and which budget allocation had DIRCO used to pay BT Communications? She was happy to hear DIRCO had found a new service provider. It was strange that the update report requested from DIRCO on this particular tender had not been submitted to the Portfolio Committee yet had a new service provider.

Mr T Mpanza (ANC) said he understood that the ICT equipment was in South Africa, but the challenge was a shortage of chips for computers, and this had caused the delay. He said DIRCO’s political work had been going well, and the main challenge was administration within DIRCO. If the ICT issue was not addressed, administrative and operational issues would persist. He said ICT should be a standing item on the Portfolio Committee’s agenda, so Members could get regular updates. DIRCO should also submit a clear implementation plan, with timeframes for every ICT project.

The Chairperson asked DIRCO to ensure there would be no legal problems regarding the former service provider, the supplier and the transportation company. He asked if there was a budget for inevitable technological improvements. What were the specific issues with National Treasury, and would this new technology allow DIRCO to interact more with stakeholders and the general public? He asked if the new ICT system would help it to manage its finances better and get a clean audit. Lastly, did DIRCO have a maintenance budget for the new ICT system?

DIRCO's response

Mr Monyela responded that there were delays beyond the control of DIRCO. It had purchased the ICT equipment from a European service provider, and delivery had to happen in South Africa to inspect the equipment and mitigate damage. A decision was made to centralise the procuring equipment to ensure that all embassies had the same equipment and that programmes were uniform between all embassies.

The budgetary constraints around recruitment had affected DIRCO, and they had asked National Treasury for help on this matter, as it had reached its ceiling on the compensation of employees. DIRCO and National Treasury were discussing hiring only critical vacancies that were important for its operations.

He said DIRCO's system was not responsible for visa delays. The delays of passports at embassies were due to a Department of Home Affairs decision to stop processing visa applications at embassies, and applications had to be processed via Pretoria. Embassies had to send visa applications to Pretoria first, and this had caused massive delays. There had been a new decision from the Minister of Home Affairs to empower embassies to process visa applications again, so in future, visa delays should not be a problem.

The contract with BT had been terminated, but when an old service provider was terminated, there was a handover period and, in this process, there was a changeover. The service could not be instantly switched off, and DIRCO was currently in that process. It would now be invoiced by the new service provider. The new service provider would pay BT for using their equipment during the handover period. There were no legal problems -- DIRCO had followed all the procurement processes and everything was done above board. There would be new platforms where the public could engage with the general public.

He said DIRCO was on track and would regularly report to the Portfolio Committee on their progress. DIRCO would also submit progress reports to the Committee.

Ms Molatlhegi continued the response, saying there would be a new DIRCO annual performance plan (APP) to ensure citizens had access to its services. The Department needed to appoint a service provider with a global presence to ensure all embassies and missions worldwide could access it. She said the matter with Treasury was around the moratorium on the Department’s finance systems. This was done to ensure the integration of all departments into the National Treasury’s system.

Further discussion

Ms Swarts said newsletters from DIRCO did not assist the Committee -- it needed to submit updated, in-depth progress reports. It made the Committee’s work difficult to ask for the same reports from DIRCO all the time. She advised that everyone placed at embassies must be trained on the new ICT system. She asked what the qualifications of the current ICT head were. DIRCO and all its missions had to have an ICT expert.

Deputy Minister Mashego-Dlamini said the new technology would help DIRCO to resolve some of its financial issues, and the Department hoped it would receive a clean audit. DIRCO would submit an in-depth implementation plan with clear timeframes for each ICT project. ICT training would be done for all diplomats.

The meeting was adjourned.

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