THE State Information Technology Agency (SITA) confirms that planned maintenance to its internet services environment, which commenced at 17:00 on Friday, 23 October, is progressing according to plan. The work remains on track, and services are expected to be restored by 17:00 on Sunday, 25 October.
The maintenance forms part of SITA’s migration to a new internet service provider and is intended to strengthen security, stability and resilience of the environment through which SITA supports government institutions.
Due to the number of institutions and services that depend on this environment, the work has been classified as a significant change.
Until the work is completed, affected departments/clients may experience intermittent disruptions or availability during this period in the following areas: internet connectivity; email and web services; transversal services, including BAS and Logis; inter-VPN and remote VPN services; and
services associated with the .gov.za domain.
Before the work began, SITA engaged directly with all affected national and provincial government departments, public entities, municipalities and other institutions, informing them of the maintenance window and its potential impact.
This enabled them to put business-continuity measures in place and to communicate with their own stakeholders. Dedicated SITA technical teams, working with the relevant service providers and client institutions, are monitoring the implementation throughout the maintenance period and will verify all affected services once the work is complete.
“SITA has a critical responsibility to maintain a secure, stable and resilient ICT environment in support of government. This maintenance is part of the disciplined technical work required to strengthen that environment and support the continuity of government operations.
“The work is proceeding in a controlled manner and remains on schedule. Our teams will continue working throughout the maintenance window to minimise disruption, restore services as planned and confirm the stability of the environment. We remain in direct contact with our clients and will keep them informed until the work has been completed and fully assessed,” said Tlali Tlali, Head of Department: Corporate Affairs at SITA.
The Agency is also aware of the global PHP vulnerabilities and is actively implementing the necessary remediation measures to address the identified vulnerabilities and secure affected websites supported by SITA.
Unless otherwise communicated, members of the public are advised that any interruption to government websites or online services before 17:00 on Sunday, 25 October 2026, is related to this planned and approved maintenance.
SITA appreciates the cooperation of its client institutions and regrets any inconvenience caused. A further update will be issued should there be any material change to the schedule or to the expected restoration of services.
