BMIT SA ICT Spend in National and Provincial Government 2025

 

Overview 

This report examines the national and provincial, tiers of government. The overall sizing of government ICT spend is assessed. The report then focuses in more detail on those government departments with significant ICT budgets. It then examines the nine provinces, thereby identifying larger spending trends. Segmentation of the data is also provided, according to the BMIT ICT definitions of communications and IT hardware, software and services.

Research Methodology

This report is the outcome of secondary research techniques and sources, as follows:

  • The February 2025 Budget for national government – both published Votes for each department and unpublished audited ICT expenditure data provided by National Treasury.
  • Similarly, the 2025 Budget for each province, and provincial ICT data, made available by National Treasury to BMIT, is used to ascertain the provincial spend.
  • Additional information obtained from SONAs, SOPAs, other speeches, and IDPs, APPs, SIDPs, annual reports and other strategic plans.
  • Secondary research utilising a wide variety of other resources, including Statistics SA, and ICT industry news sources.
  • BMIT’s internal research database and experience.

Note:

BMIT appreciates the cooperation from National Treasury in releasing unpublished, detailed data on audited ICT spend for the past five years up to and including financial year 2024/25, which enables BMIT to present as accurate as possible a picture of both the size of government ICT expenditure,  specific ICT categories of spend, and the extent to which departments and provinces use SITA.

Since the forecasted estimates for the MTEF period for the national and provincial budgets are not available at the same level of ICT detail, forecasting in this report is based on those more accurate audited numbers, and premised upon the available Budget MTEF estimates as well as BMIT’s own forecasting, which represents our ‘most likely’ view taking into account the credibility of each of the above sources.

Table of Contents

Introduction
BMIT ICT category segmentation
Research methodology 

Economic Overview

  • Economic growth and prospects, domestic and global
  • Government’s role in the economy

Total Government ICT Spend

  • Total government spend on IT and telecoms
  • Total national and provincial ICT spend
  • Summary of national & provincial ICT spend, 2022/23 – 2027/28

Major National ICT Programmes and Policies

  • ICT in government authority chain
  • South Africa’s Roadmap for the Digital Transformation of Government
  • Operation Vulindlela Phase II: Reform focus area 7: Digital Public Infrastructure Reform
  • ECA Act  – 2023 Amendment Bill (page 1 of 3)
  • ECA Act  – 2023 Amendment Bill (page 2 of 3)
  • ECA Act  – 2023 Amendment Bill (page 3 0f 3), amendments (recent updates)
  • Implementation of National Policy on Data and Cloud
  • The Integrated Justice System (IJS) – background
  • The Integrated Justice System (IJS) progress in 2025
  • SA Connect Phase 1 – history
  • SA Connect Phase 2 : Three connectivity streams were set in 2023, with targets set for each
  • Phase 2, Stream 1 commenced in 2023/2024,
    with BBI and Sentech overseeing hotspot connectivity
  • SA Connect with regard to education:
    during Covid-19 and in 2023 and 2024
  • Broadband Infraco Update on Wi-Fi Hotspots Implemented via the SA Connect Phase 2 as at May 2025 (1 of 2)
  • Broadband Infraco Update on Wi-Fi Hotspots Implemented via the Broadband Access Fund, as at May 2025 (2 of 2)
  • SA Connect progress as at January 2026
  • IFMS – integrated financial management system – background
  • Integrated financial management system (IFMS) – Initial progress and challenges
  • Integrated financial management system (IFMS) – progress and challenges in 2025/6
  • Important spectrum policy updates were gazetted in May 2024
  • DPME / DCDT Targets
  • Presidential Commission on 4th Industrial Revolution – History and Status
  • The role of the CSIR and associated entities
  • Digital Economy Masterplan (DEM)

ICT Agencies and SOEs

  • The creation of SDIC remains ‘work in progress’ since the decision to create this entity in 2017.
  • State Information Technology Company (SITA) – context and history
  • Round Table Report on provision and management of ICT in government
  • SITA (State Information Technology Agency)
  • BBI (Broadband Infraco)
  • Sentech background, data centre expansion plans and ICASA findings
  • Sentech 
  • Sentech Freevision Play
  • ICASA
  • USAASA & the USAF

National ICT Spend

  • National government departments’ ICT spend 2017/18 – 2027/28
  • IT and telecoms spend categories, proportion of actual spend of national government departments 2023/24
  • National departments’ ICT spend: SITA versus non-SITA, 2023/24
  • Top national ICT spenders
  • SAPS Information System/Information and Communication Technology Strategy
  • National Department – Police ICT expenditure
  • Some of the major recent ICT deals contracted by the South African Police
  • National Department – Home Affairs ICT expenditure
  • National Department – Home Affairs Digital Transformation Strategy
  • Some of the major recent ICT deals contracted by the Department of Home Affairs
  • National Department – Justice ICT expenditure
  • Some of the major ICT deals contracted by Justice departments in the past year
  • National Department – Defence budgeted ICT spend
  • Some of the major recent ICT deals contracted by the National Treasury

Provincial ICT Spend

  • Provincial government ICT spend 2017/18 – 2027/28
  • Provincial government ICT spend is dominated by four provinces
  • Provincial ICT spend by categories, 2024/25
  • Provincial government ICT spend in 2024/25
  • Provincial government spend through SITA services, 2024/25
  • Gauteng government (GPG) ICT spend 2024/25 and forecast
  • Gauteng e-Government Department’s ICT plans
  • Western Cape government ICT spend 2024/25 and forecast
  • Western Cape government’s ICT plans and projects
  • KwaZulu-Natal government ICT spend 2024/25 and forecast
  • Eastern Cape government ICT spend 2024/25 and forecast
  • Limpopo government ICT spend 2024/25 and forecast
  • Mpumalanga government ICT spend 2024/25 and forecast
  • North West government ICT spend 2024/25 and forecast
  • Free State government ICT spend 2024/25 and forecast
  • Northern Cape government ICT spend 2024/25 and forecast

Research team

The team for this research Konanani Ratshikhopha, Christopher Geerdts, Penny Smith, Brian Neilson, Clinton Jacobs. This team has extensive sector experience in this field, having conducted these studies annually for more than a decade.

Related Research

  • BMIT SA ICT Spend in Local Government
  • BMIT South African Overview of State-Owned Enterprises

Further information

For further information and details on how to subscribe to this research please contact Anita Mathews |011 540 8000 | 082 466 2317 | anita@bmit.africa

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