The SA Weather Service (Saws) is on a quest to recoup more than R1m from dubious service level agreements with external companies, which allegedly flouted supply chain processes, reports City Press.

These were authorised by former head of human resources Julia Mphafudi.

Executive manager at the meteorological service, Mnikeli Ndabambi, has told the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) that service contracts between the state-owned entity and Buang Recruitment Specialists and Dinaledi Human Capital ought to be reviewed and set aside.

According to Ndabambi’s court affidavit dated 31 May, the contracts in dispute occurred between September 2017 and September 2019. 

In early 2019, Saws commissioned a forensic investigation into various allegations of misconduct and irregular expenditure.

The investigations were conducted by external investigators, Messrs (Incorporated).

Saws was provided with a report by the investigators in July 2019.

‘Saws considered the report with the assistance of the lawyers. The report raised a number of issues which require both internal consequence management and the recovery of the loss consequent from the service level agreements sought to be declared invalid, null and void and of no effect,’ read the document.

He revealed that no supply chain process was followed when Buang Recruitment Specialist recruited employees for the state-owned entity on several occasions.

Ndabambi cited that Mphafudi only drafted motivation for approval of payments when Buang had submitted invoices.

Full City Press report