At a time of excessive climate situations, the South African Climate Service (Saws) depends on out of date gear due to bungled procurement processes.
That is based on a leaked report, dated 1 August 2024, of an investigation into Saws tenders by XTND, a white-collar crime prevention firm.
The investigation was commissioned by former Saws board chair Feziwe Renqe.
XTND recommends {that a} felony case of corruption be opened in opposition to an worker of Eclipse Holdings and a senior IT supervisor at Saws, who we aren’t but naming.
The IT supervisor in query stated: “I’m anti-corruption… I’m on precautionary suspension due to that… I’m not corrupt.”
She referred to an SIU report from about 2020/2021 which she claims tells the entire story. GroundUp was unable to validate the existence of such an SIU report.
We additionally approached the worker from Eclipse Holdings named within the XTND report. An account government replied, noting that because the firm had not been suggested of the report or concerned in any associated discussions with its buyer, it was unable to remark.
Requested about particular allegations within the report, Ian Madonsela, account supervisor at Eclipse Holdings, stated: “At this stage, I’m unable to offer any remark to the media previous to a radical engagement with my buyer (Saws), as responding prematurely might probably deliver them into disrepute. I belief you perceive the significance of due course of in dealing with such allegations.”
Excessive-performance pc
Saws urgently wants to obtain a high-performance pc (HPC) system with hierarchical storage administration. The present HPC was sourced nearly a decade in the past and is now out of date. Its {hardware} guarantee can not be prolonged and elements are not accessible. It was anticipated in 2021 already that by mid to late 2022, the present system may not be operational.
Completely satisfied Sithole, supervisor of nationwide built-in cyber infrastructure at CSIR-NICIS, who was known as in to advise Saws, stated: “The delay in getting a brand new system represents a threat to the nation. If the system they’ve now collapses, we would not be capable of do any forecasting … at a time when there may be a lot local weather unpredictability.”
Learn: Costs in opposition to EOH corruption accused withdrawn
Allegations of a corrupt relationship between Eclipse and Saws are usually not new. An investigation carried out by Morar in 2019 alleged that the Saws CEO on the time, Jerry Lengoasa, had solicited varied funds from two Saws service suppliers amounting to R2-million (most of it from Eclipse Holdings). The report alleges he used the cash to buy a brand new home and different issues.
Lengoasa’s alleged corruption was reported to the Lyttleton police station after which referred to the Hawks for investigation in 2019. Lengoasa claimed that he had by no means obtained monetary help from a service supplier.
Makes an attempt to contact Lengoasa for this text had been unsuccessful.
On 13 June 2024, the senior state prosecutor withdrew the case in opposition to Lengoasa. In keeping with the present CEO, Ishaam Abader, the rationale given was that the unique Morar report and tender paperwork submitted in a young bid (SAWS-127/17) couldn’t be discovered.
XTND was aghast that regardless of the findings of the Morar investigation, Saws did not bar Eclipse till the allegation of corruption was resolved, according to a Could 2019 board submission. The board famous that there have been 18 months to go earlier than the contract with Eclipse expired and that the contract had been settled in full upfront.
When the case in opposition to Lengoasa was nonetheless open in 2023, Abader commented: “Eclipse Holdings has been contracted to offer the HPC companies since 2017 by way of a contract signed with Saws they usually have, to my data, by no means been in breach of identical.
“It have to be famous additional that the HPC is the bedrock on which Saws runs its numerical climate prediction fashions and that these are important for our mandated service provision. Due to this fact, within the interval earlier than we procure one other HPC, we’re obliged to make use of the present HPC and unique gear producer / service supplier for our legally prescribed service supply.”
Botched tenders
The XTND report recommends that “nearly all Saws staff concerned within the tenders ought to be disciplined”. It cited one of many main limitations of its investigation was the absence of minutes or recordings of conferences regarding tender processes.
It additionally says the CEO (Abader) “has no enterprise” within the workings of the bid specification committee and will “keep in his lane”. XTND says the “CEO acts as selector, participant, coach and referee, which is opposite to the segregation-of-duties precept”.
Since September 2021, there have been three tender processes.
Bid SAWS-270/21 was marketed on 10 September 2021 and closed on 15 October of that very same 12 months. Seven bids had been obtained. The bid analysis committee really helpful that the bid be awarded to Makwa IT, which scored the very best factors.
Nevertheless, on the recommendation of nationwide treasury on the time, Saws determined to cancel the bid over a pricing subject and readvertise.
Bid SAWS-300/22 was marketed on 18 July 2022 and closed on 12 August 2022. The XTND investigation discovered that in June 2022, the Saws senior IT supervisor had obtained by non-public e-mail correspondence an attachment with the bid specification for SAWS-270/21, which was reviewed to tell the following bid, SAWS-300/22. Metadata allowed the doc to be traced to an Eclipse worker as its writer. The report notes that this “constitutes bid rigging”.
At a gathering of the specification committee the identical day, the senior IT supervisor really helpful that the obligatory necessities ought to embrace a minimal of two native HPC implementations and supporting references; a minimal of two native assist engineers with 5 years’ expertise in supporting HPC techniques; and itemised costing. The XTND report describes this as a “criterion seemingly tailor-made to Eclipse Holdings’ experience”.
The ultimate bid specs for SAWS-300/22 had been submitted to the CEO for approval on 11 July 2022.
On 25 November 2022, the analysis committee really helpful that the bid be awarded to Eclipse. But Eclipse was non-compliant, because it had did not price every possibility of its proposed options.
The bid adjudication committee really helpful that the bid be cancelled and readvertised and the division have interaction with the CSIR to help in drafting the bid specification.
A price range of R57-million was allotted for an HPC with storage and HSM.
Eclipse had quoted about R88-million, exceeding the price range allocation.
On 9 December 2022, Abader despatched an e-mail to the senior IT supervisor and the chief of company affairs Petro Dekker, copying within the government administration committee, recommending that the bid be readvertised as quickly as potential utilizing the identical specs as for Saws bid 300/22.
Excessive price
Noting the present system’s “vulnerability”, he wrote: “I’m additionally involved that costs are escalating and that we’ll not discover any suppliers that may meet our necessities throughout the present price range. We must also take into account revising our price estimates as it seems that the opposite bidders are method above our value vary.”
On 12 December 2022, adjudication committee chair Norman Mzisi signed the minutes recommending that the bid be cancelled and readvertised.
Nationwide treasury didn’t assist the bid cancellation and in a letter dated 21 December 2022 stated the analysis committee ought to be investigated for recommending a non-compliant bidder to the adjudication committee. Analysis committee members, together with the chair and secretariat, famous that conferences weren’t recorded and no assembly minutes may very well be discovered.
The audit and threat committee, chaired on the time by present chair of the board Itani Phaduli, referred the matter to the board, the place it was agreed that there ought to be a forensic evaluation of the tender cancellations and that he facilitate this.
The third tender, SAWS-319/22, was marketed on 20 March 2022 and closed on 18 April 2023. Of the 5 bidders, three had been instantly disqualified.
Specification committee members signed off the specs and referred them to the adjudication committee.
The specification committee chair adjusted the specification based mostly on the adjudication committee suggestions and marketed the bid and not using a last sign-off by the specification committee. Solely after the bid was marketed was the specification committee given a chance to debate the adjudication committee suggestions. That is extremely irregular, stated XTND.
XTND discovered the identical bid specs doc was used for each SAWS-300/22 (the one drafted by an Eclipse worker) and 319/22.
Advisers from CSIR recommended eradicating the native reference requirement, noting that it might restrict bidders to just one service supplier. This was dismissed by the senior IT supervisor.
When GroundUp requested about the best way ahead and whether or not the setting minister has been knowledgeable, Phaduli stated the board is “seized with the matter” and as “quickly because it has been concluded, the shareholder [minister] might be suggested accordingly”. — (c) 2024 GroundUp
South African Climate Service board’s response:
We hereby acknowledge your additional communication with the South African Climate Service concerning varied points.
The South African Climate Service board hereby expresses its deep concern {that a} confidential doc that was solely made accessible to the Saws board, is now in your possession. Please notice that there’s a waiver within the doc that clearly states that this doc is just not for additional distribution, and it’s for the needs of the board use solely.
As well as, because the board remains to be participating with the complete content material of the report, sure processes and suggestions are at the moment being applied and could be compromised ought to there be “untimely reporting” by the media at this delicate stage of the proceedings.
It may be confirmed that there have been allegations made (corrupt relationship with Eclipse) and that the required investigative processes had been carried out and that the suggestions arising there from had been applied by the board.
The supply of high-performance computing companies is very specialised and is rendered by solely a handful of service suppliers, most of whom are worldwide service suppliers. These contracts are inevitably high-value contracts that require substantial capital outlay for each {hardware} and software program elements. They’re additionally multi-year contracts and accordingly some prices must be paid upfront, as the unique gear producers are normally very outstanding abroad firms that won’t provide and ship such costly elements with out cost upfront, as they will take 4 to 5 months to ship and one other 4 to 6 months to put in and check given their advanced nature.
We hereby encourage you to permit the South African Climate Service board to finalise its processes with regard to the findings and suggestions within the investigative report.
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