State agency Sita and Post Office owe millions to hundreds of suppliers

The State IT Agency (Sita) and the SA Post Office (Sapo) are the leading culprits among entities under the department of communications and digital technologies when it comes to failing to pay suppliers on time.

Between them, the two entities, which have been rocked by instability in recent years, owe more than half-a-billion rand to more than 400 suppliers.

Of these service providers, 152 have had their invoices gathering dust at Sapo and Sita offices for no less than four months.

The information is contained in a question for written reply directed at minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni by DA MP Hendrik Krüger.

In the reply, Ntshavheni says the department owes no suppliers but entities under the department owe a combined R700m to 751 service providers.

On monies owed, Sapo leads the charts with invoices totalling R485m to 196 suppliers, followed by Sita which owed 210 services providers R210m.

A total of 91 suppliers, four months later, are still waiting on Sita to settle their invoices whereas 63 companies that have provided a service to Sapo have been waiting for the same period.

The post office is in a more dire situation, as it is also in arrears on rent and utilities in many branches across the country with a debt that is more than R300m — while the company is carrying a begging bowl hoping for government to save it from bankruptcy. 

The .za domain name authority (Zadna) is the only entity under the department that has a clean slate, having paid all suppliers on time.

Ntshavheni explained why the different entities have not settled invoices and made commitments that each was determined to remedy the situation.

“Sita is working with all its client departments to ensure that they make funds available to settle all outstanding invoices as soon as possible, and not later than March 31 2022,” said Ntshavheni. 

“These outstanding amounts are largely for services consumed by different government departments. Sita manages the related contracts on their behalf, and can only settle invoices when client departments make funds available.”

As for Sapo, said the minister, the postal services SOE “does not have the required funds to settle the liabilities” but has since “developed a revised strategy to improve its operational and financial performance”.

“However, the success of the new strategy depends on the availability of funding.”

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