SAWS denies claims of 'storm brewing' after renewed corruption allegations

The South Africa Weather Service (SAWS) has denied claims of a "storm brewing" at the organisation following renewed allegations of fraud and corruption.

Management at the weather service has been accused of financial mismanagement, abuse of power, and tender irregularities.

These include allegations that the SAWS board has shielded some in the executive from accountability. This is not the first time the weather service has been rocked by similar claims.

Spokesperson for the South African Weather Service, Oupa Segalwe, labelled as false the reports of governance failures, financial mismanagement, and impunity.

"The SAWS has a zero-tolerance approach to fraud, corruption, and collusion. The entity would furthermore welcome any independent investigation instituted by the Executive Authority into any allegations of corruption and/or collusion," Segalwe stated.

Despite the claims, he insists that the procurement process to acquire a new high-performance computing system to run weather prediction models is above board.

"The latest and most current process is now at an advanced stage of bid evaluation. The evaluation will be succeeded by a bid adjudication and a recommendation of the successful bidder to the CEO to consider for approval. In addition to the existing checks and balances, which include independent bid specification, evaluation and adjudication committees, the current Board has resolved that the process be subjected to a double-blind review," he added.