A digital ministry rebuilt around procurement rather than policy
Internal restructuring has concentrated authority in a delivery unit with no statutory footing.
The ministry responsible for digital policy has been restructured twice in three years. The second restructuring is the consequential one.
Authority for programme design, vendor selection and milestone sign-off has been consolidated in a delivery unit reporting directly to the secretary-general. The unit does not appear in the ministry's statutory organisation chart.
Staff describe a body that functions as the ministry's decision-making core while remaining formally advisory. Policy divisions prepare submissions; the unit determines what proceeds.
The arrangement has produced faster procurement cycles. Officials point to a measurable reduction in the time between programme approval and contract award.
It has also produced a documentation gap. Because the unit is not a statutory decision-maker, its deliberations are not minuted in the form that would ordinarily support later audit.
The auditor-general's office has previously flagged similar arrangements in other ministries. No finding has been issued in this case.
Filed under
