SITA STRENGTHENS LEADERSHIP FOR STABILITY AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN A CHANGING ERA

At a time when artificial intelligence, data and digital platforms are reshaping how governments work and how citizens experience public services, the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) is strengthening the leadership needed to navigate this changing environment with purpose, discipline and a clear focus on public value.
SITA has appointed Ms Itumeleng Draaijer as Executive: Strategy and Corporate Services and Ms Portia Matsena as Chief Digital Officer, effective from November 2026.

The appointments bring together two closely connected areas of leadership. Strategy provides the institutional direction and discipline needed to strengthen SITA, while digital leadership enables the Agency to respond to rapid technological change and the evolving needs of government.

They form part of a broader executive leadership programme undertaken by SITA Managing Director Magatho Mello during the current financial year. The programme has also seen the appointment of Ms Phumzile Njoko as Executive: Supply Chain Management, Mr Gabaiphiwe Tabane as Executive: Client Engagement, Mr Bongumusa Kumalo as Executive: Network, Cloud and Platforms, and Ms Yolande van Biljon as Chief Financial Officer.

Collectively, the appointments strengthen the functions through which SITA must deliver, bringing together strategy, digital transformation, financial stewardship, responsible procurement, client engagement and technology infrastructure as part of a single programme of institutional renewal.

“The work of stabilising SITA is inseparable from preparing it to serve government in a rapidly changing digital era. These appointments are about building an executive team that can govern responsibly, execute with discipline and understand the significance of SITA’s mandate to the country,” said SITA Managing Director Magatho Mello.

“Each executive brings depth of experience to a critical area of the organisation. Together, they strengthen the leadership capability SITA needs to deepen accountability, build institutional confidence and support government’s digital transformation. Our responsibility is to ensure that technology delivers practical public value, protects South Africa’s digital interests and enables the state to serve people more effectively,” he added.

New Appointments: The leadership behind the strategy

Ms Itumeleng Draaijer, Strategy And Corporate Services Executive

For Itumeleng Draaijer, strategy is not an abstract exercise. Her career has centred on helping institutions define where they are going, align people and resources behind that direction, and translate plans into measurable results.

She brings more than 20 years of managerial and professional experience to SITA, including over a decade in senior leadership roles spanning corporate strategy, organisational performance, stakeholder relations and business operations. Her career includes leadership experience at the Development Bank of Southern Africa, South African Bureau of Standards, National Prosecuting Authority and Accenture, together with experience in major financial institutions.

Ms Draaijer has led the development of corporate strategy and strengthened functions across organisational performance, stakeholder and media relations, research and innovation, partnerships and international relations. At SITA, she will connect the Agency’s strategic direction with the people, systems and institutional disciplines needed to deliver on its mandate.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of Cape Town and an MBA from the Gordon Institute of Business Science. She is also a Certified Director of the Institute of Directors South Africa and has served as an independent non-executive director and audit committee member.

Digital transformation with public purpose

Ms Portia Matsena, Chief Digital Officer

Portia Matsena joins SITA with more than 20 years of leadership experience across banking, national payment systems, government, information and communications technology, and large-scale digital transformation.

Her career includes serving as Managing Director: Cash at Absa, Chief Information Officer at BankservAfrica, Chief Digital Officer at Gijima, Acting Group Chief Information Officer at the South African Post Office, and Head of Department at SITA. She has also held senior management roles in provincial treasuries and the National Treasury.

Across these environments, Ms Matsena has led multidisciplinary teams, strengthened critical payment systems, modernised operations and delivered complex technology programmes at scale. Her experience in intelligent automation, AI-enabled solutions and digitally optimised operating models is particularly relevant as government considers how emerging technologies can be adopted responsibly and used to create meaningful public value.

As Chief Digital Officer, she will lead SITA’s digital transformation agenda and strengthen the Agency’s ability to support the secure, ethical and purposeful adoption of emerging technologies. The measure of this transformation will not be technology for its own sake, but whether it helps government work more effectively, make better-informed decisions and serve people better.

Ms Matsena holds an MBA from the University of South Africa, a Master’s in Project Leadership and Management from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, a Bachelor of Technology from Tshwane University of Technology, and a Postgraduate Programme in Data Science and Business Analytics from the University of Texas.

Building South Africa’s digital state
South Africa, like countries across the world, must consider how to harness artificial intelligence and digital innovation while protecting sovereign data, critical infrastructure and national interests.

“South Africa must harness artificial intelligence and digital innovation while protecting sovereign data, critical infrastructure and the national interest. For SITA, this means ensuring that digital systems respond to the country’s social and economic realities, support its developmental priorities and strengthen the ability of the state to serve all citizens,” said Mello.

“SITA’s role places it at the intersection of technology and public service. Digital transformation becomes meaningful when a citizen can access a service more easily, when a department can make better decisions using reliable information, and when public institutions are connected through secure systems that work.

The six executive appointments made during the financial year bring together the capabilities required to strengthen SITA internally and deepen its contribution to this national transformation,” Mello stated.

The portfolios span strategy and corporate services, digital transformation, financial stewardship, supply chain management, client engagement, and the networks, cloud services and platforms that underpin the digital state. Ms Njoko, Mr Tabane, Mr Kumalo and Ms van Biljon strengthen governance, client relationships, technology infrastructure and financial stewardship, while Ms Draaijer and Ms Matsena add the strategic and digital leadership at the centre of this latest announcement.

Together, the portfolios form an interconnected leadership system. Each has a distinct purpose, but their collective impact will depend on collaboration, shared accountability and a common commitment to SITA’s mandate.

“A strong executive team is not simply a collection of individual portfolios. It must operate as one leadership system, with every function contributing to the same organisational purpose,” said Mello.

“We are bringing together the capabilities required to strengthen SITA from within while improving how we support government. The task ahead is to translate this leadership capacity into consistent execution, dependable digital services and outcomes that South Africans can experience in their interactions with the state.”

Stability as the foundation for meaningful change
The appointments mark an important step in SITA’s programme to build a more stable, capable and responsive organisation. Stability is not an end in itself. It is the foundation for consistent delivery, stronger institutional trust and a more meaningful contribution to the digital transformation of the South African state.

SITA welcomes Ms Itumeleng Draaijer and Ms Portia Matsena and looks forward to the experience, perspective and leadership they bring to the Agency and its broader executive team.