State Information Technology Agency (SITA) and the Paradox of Centralized ICT Procurement: Reform or Redundancy in South Africa’s Public Sector

Abstract

Centralized ICT procurement is promoted as a means to improve efficiency and accountability, yet it often generates rigidity and frustration in developing-country contexts. This study investigates this paradox using South Africa’s State Information Technology Agency as an example affected by the broader challenges of digital governance in the Global South. Using an interpretivist, abductive approach, 55 semi-structured interviews with Government Information Technology Officers were analyzed thematically. Four patterns emerged: bureaucratic inefficiency, misalignment with departmental needs, workaround behavior and declining institutional legitimacy. These themes informed a Governance-Implementation Feedback Model explaining how control-oriented procurement systems produce institutional erosion and adaptive resistance. The study extends Policy Feedback and Institutional Theory to information systems governance, demonstrating how negative administrative experiences reinforce path dependence. It contributes theoretical and policy insights into balancing oversight and agility within public-sector digital transformation.