Note to editors: Please find attached soundbite by Tsholofelo Bodlani MP
The DA notes with great concern reports of strike action by State Information Technology Agency (SITA) workers, with the looming possibility of a “total shutdown until demands are met”.
Members of the Public Servants Association (PSA) announced their strike on Monday, 16 October, after wage negotiations with the Department of Communications & Digital Technologies hit a dead end.
SITA’s primary role is to consolidate state IT resources – to streamline processes, improve delivery and save cost. The services which rely on SITA, in the Home Affairs, SASSA, and Labour and Employment departments will be severely hampered by the initiated strike. While these services already operate very badly, strike action threatens to put them to a standstill. SITA is responsible for providing Government with IT services, and while it continues to fail in its mandate, it is nonetheless crucial to essential Government operations, such as the delivery of SASSA grants and the issuing of ID books.
The DA warns against any disruption to critical government services, as this ultimately affects the most vulnerable. We do not wish for September’s events, which left SASSA recipients stranded, to repeat themselves. We call on the Minister of Communications & Digital Technologies, Mondli Gungubele, and Cabinet to ensure contingencies are in place and that the delivery of services continues undisrupted.
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