The last time we heard from Gavin Watson, he was casually dismissing reporters who waited outside his house in Jozi for comment on the unfolding Bosasa scandal.
I guess he thinks, or possibly knows, that he wields too much power, and has too much dirt on ANC bigwigs, to ever be held accountable for the rampant corruption that lined his company’s pockets.
The good news is that Bosasa, since renamed African Global Operations, has now liquidated after South African banks shut down their accounts, although that may result in the loss of 4 500 jobs.
You can bet that some of Bosasa’s former employees will be delighted to see some form of karma catching up with Watson, especially those that he treats with such disdain in the video below.
News24 has obtained a video, filmed during a staff “imbizo” in March 2017 at Silverstar Casino in Krugersdorp, which shows him mocking and belittling staff for mistakes that almost cost the company a R800 million tender.
Pretty sure he could have just sent another suitcase of money along to fix any hitches, but it does provide a rare glimpse into how Watson operated:
In the video, he can be heard talking about how he and politically connected fixer for Bosasa Sesinyi Seopela “work in the night, trying to get tenders over the weekend” and speaks of tender “networks” the company ran…
Seopela, who is known as “Commander” in Bosasa circles, emerged as a key figure with strong political connections who was able to open doors to political leaders for the company…
[Watson] takes his “tender office” to task for mistakes in documents that nearly cost the company a lucrative contract.
At one point he tells Gina Peters, a 17-year veteran of the Bosasa trenches, not to cry.
Watson, in a sarcastic manner, berates Bosasa accounts department staff member Jacques van Zyl.
“Jacques complains that he couldn’t do the tenders, because there are so many tenders,” Watson says.
Look, everyone in the room is in on the corruption, but the disdain and disregard Watson exhibits is telling:
A Bosasa insider, who spoke with News24, said that this was supposed to be an “open forum to encourage people”. Watson clearly never got that memo, and would make a point of targetting and embarrassing certain individuals:
The insider, who did not wish to be named, referred to Peters, who Watson told not to cry in the video.
“Gina has been an employee of Bosasa for 17 years. She has worked nights to ensure that the professionalism of the company is maintained. On weekends she is at Watson’s beck and call, having to attend to personal chores. And this is how a Christian deals with people. It’s a disgrace,” the insider said.
I don’t know what church Watson goes to on a Sunday, but he might want to keep a low profile and sit near the back.
We must doff our caps to Zapiro’s latest cartoon, featured on the Daily Maverick, which lampoons Bosasa using Monty Python’s famous ‘Mr Creosote’ sketch:
Beautiful.
Also, any excuse to watch a Monty Python skit during the workday:
[source:news24&dailymaverick]
