Dyambu Operations (which would become Bosasa) did not only have powerful politicians on its side. It also cultivated relationships with union bosses, realising that they too could help to unlock a few treasure chests. When Angelo Agrizzi was appointed as Gavin Watson's right-hand man at Dyambu in 1999, the company "was paying off trade union members and National Union of Mineworkers regional officials", he says. "This was done to ensure the support of the particular unions to obtain agreements at various mine hostels."
The company's handling of a Sasol catering tender in 1999 illustrated its modus operandi: connections and the clever use of some sharp elbows allowed Dyambu to prevail despite an initially substandard bid.
According to Agrizzi, a source at Sasol had informed Watson about shortcomings in its tender. "I was asked to go and rectify the problem. The tender had already closed and the bid submissions had lapsed," Agrizzi said. He arranged a meeting with a procurement official from Sasol in an attempt to alter the bid after the deadline had closed. He said the Sasol official was annoyed because he had been instructed by "a higher authority" to allow the improper changes. A meeting with the boss of one of the biggest unions at Sasol played a key role in securing the catering tender.
Agrizzi alleged that Dyambu received valuable support from Simon Mofokeng, who headed the Chemical, Energy, Paper, Printing, Wood and Allied Workers Union (Ceppwawu) at Sasol. "I got a call from Gavin Watson. He said we had a meeting with Mofokeng. He said the purpose of the meeting was to sort out Sasol. At the meeting I was told [by Mofokeng] to just resubmit the pricing proposal and we should not worry."
The plan was that the union would threaten Sasol with strike action to ensure Dyambu's success. Mofokeng also revealed to Watson and Agrizzi the competing bidders' prices for the catering contract. "He had a phenomenal network at Sasol. We modelled our new submission using those indicators and were successful."
Agrizzi alleged that shortly after the tender had been won, Watson told him to buy and deliver goods, including drinks and braai packs, to Mofokeng every month. The estimated value was R15,000 per delivery and the costs were chalked up as "marketing expenses". Agrizzi later also found out that Mofokeng's wife, Maureen, had been employed by Dyambu. Bosasa would have the Sasol contract for three years and Mofokeng's fridge was full during that time.
Mofokeng later became the general secretary of Ceppwawu, but his reign came to an inglorious end amid a litany of scandals. The most serious accusation was that he had used his position to secure a deal with Sasol worth R60m a year. According to the Sunday Times, Mofokeng had allegedly been involved in pressuring the petrochemical company to make use of certain black-owned contractors to comply with BEE policies. The newspaper claimed that the Ceppwawu boss had helped secure a coal-handling contract for a business in which his wife, Maureen, had a 90% stake. The other 10% belonged to the ANC spokesman in North West at the time, Obakeng Malao. Mofokeng and his wife were accused of raking in R320,000 per month from the deal. At the time, Sasol said the claims against it were "unfounded".
Under Mofokeng's leadership, the union's membership numbers fell dramatically. National executive meetings did not take place and two congresses were skipped.
Dismissals and expulsions of members were common, as well as allegations of fraud. The union also failed to produce audited financial statements as required by law and faced deregistration from the department of labour. Certain factions in Ceppwawu alleged that Mofokeng enjoyed the protection of a national cabinet minister, but this was unproven. He was eventually dismissed from the union in 2017 after failing to appear for disciplinary hearings.
• This is an edited extract from The Bosasa Billions, by James-Brent Styan and Paul Vecchiatto, published by Lapa Publishers
* Sasol did not respond to Styan's request for comment and Mofokeng could not be reached for comment
