Four senior officials at the defence ministry are being replaced because of continued ICT failures and internal disputes, defence minister Jeanine Hennis said on Tuesday.

The removals follow a string of problems with defence ministry IT systems, which are not only old but do not have enough reserve capacity, the minister said in a briefing to parliament.

‘This has risks for the continuity of operations and demands direct intervention,’ the minister said.

The problem stems from a difficult relationship between two organisations responsible for the department’s ICT, Hennis said. An army colonel, a general and two civilians are being replaced.

The defence ministry has being trying to automate its logitistics processes since 2005 and the audit office said in January the project has so far cost four times the budget. It should have been completed in 2009 but is still only at 80%.