The State Information Technology Agency (SITA) confirms that it has today settled its municipal account with the City of Tshwane following a temporary suspension of services at its Erasmuskloof head office.
SITA maintains a prepaid account with the municipality, which has been serviced regularly. However, over the past three months, the Agency relied on estimated consumption figures that inadvertently underestimated actual usage. This resulted in a shortfall of R3.2 million, which has now been fully settled.
Following a thorough review, SITA has established its average monthly consumption rate of municipal services to be approximately R2.6 million. This recalibration will inform future planning and ensure more accurate forecasting of service needs.
It is important to note that SITA operates multiple sites within the City of Tshwane. One of these accounts held sufficient credit to cover the shortfall at the Erasmuskloof office. Had the municipality notified SITA of the impending shortfall, a credit transfer could have been arranged to offset the amount owing and avoid the suspension of services.
SITA takes full accountability for the shortfall and is implementing enhanced internal measures to prevent any recurrence. These include improved monitoring of consumption rates and proactive engagement with municipal billing processes.
At the same time, SITA urges the City of Tshwane to adhere to its own procedural requirements, which include issuing a pre-warning and final notice to clients prior to any suspension of services. These steps were regrettably not followed, resulting in a procedurally unfair process and denying SITA the opportunity to respond or rectify the situation in advance.
As institutions of the State, both SITA and the City of Tshwane share a common mandate to support and enhance service delivery to all citizens. While the temporary suspension of services was unfortunate, it did not disrupt government operations, as the Erasmuskloof office continued functioning through its backup power generator.
SITA extends its apologies to all stakeholders for any concern or anxiety caused by the incident. The Agency remains committed to transparency, accountability, and constructive collaboration with all partners in the public sector.
INFO SUPPLIED
