Leaky local council websites, DigiD fraud: the Diginotar debacle touched many a local authority and government site. The problem is endemic, says ICT entrepreneur René Veldwijk in a damning interview in the Volkskrant.

Megalomania
Veldwijk has seen one major ICT failure from up close: the automated database system of the UWV, the organisation responsible for social security administration. ‘It was complete megalomania’, the business economist and database expert tells the paper.
Veldwijk, who was brought in when the project ran into trouble, says he was stunned when in 2000 a senior civil servant kicked off the project by saying: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, it goes without saying that feasibility is the least of my political bosses’ priorities.’
Mad ideas
It laid bare the dichotomy that underlies every big government ICT project, according to Veldman: ‘There are the administrators and their wishes on the one hand and ICT people on the other who think their ideas are mad but will go along with them because there is money to be made.’
No amount of mps’ questions will prevent big government ICT projects from crashing to the ground, Veldman predicts, and one of the reasons is that the people who are hired to do the job are ‘ICT bunglers’. ‘Building systems is a highly complex process. When there is a change in policy the project has to be adjusted. Whether or not it can be done is not even considered. You end up with systems that are never finished or don’t work properly. People who know their job and want a good end result do not work for the government’
Culture of failure
‘Big projects, such as the UWV one, are financed by The Hague. A third of the money goes on commissions to Capgemini and Logica and they spend the rest themselves. If a project is not finished on time more money is made available. Loss of face is worse than loss of money. This becomes a self perpetuating culture of failure which is in everybody’s interest.’
Veldman, who has a personal axe to grind with the UWV – his company was called in, did the job only to see the ‘bunglers’ revert to the old order – says the failed system must have cost around €400m.
Tax system
‘The tax office system for paying out subsidies doesn’t work but cost half a billion. It takes many civil servants many hours to sort out all the mistakes that are being made. It keeps a lot of people in work.’
Veldman doesn’t like to bandy words like corruption or cheating about. ‘All I’m saying is that I’m astounded at the fact that we are throwing away billions of taxpayers’ money when anyone with even the most basic organisational skills could see where it all goes wrong.’