Bosasa executives attended Andile Ramaphosa's wedding, affidavit reveals

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Johannesburg - President Cyril Ramaphosa said he was informed that Bosasa executives, CEO Gavin Watson and director Trevor Mathenjwa, travelled to Uganda in August last year to attend his son Andile Ramaphosa's wedding but that he did not recall interacting with them at the event. More than a thousand guests attended the wedding, the president said in an affidavit submitted to the Zondo commission of inquiry into the state capture scandal. "This included between 150 and 200 guests who flew from South Africa for the occasion. I have no recollection of any interaction with them at that event." He said he did tour the company's call centre at its Krugersdorp head office where ANC volunteers were helping the governing party with its campaign ahead of the August 2016 local government elections. "I remember interacting there with ANC volunteers and party officials but may well have also interacted with Bosasa employees that were present at the premises at the time. I had no knowledge at the time of the source of funding for this centre as these matters were the purview of the [ANC] elections team."

"Other than the above, I have not to my knowledge had any interactions or meetings with any of its [Bosasa's] directors, former directors, employees or former employees, nor have had any interactions or meetings with any of the directors or former directors of its subsidiaries or employees or former employees. I cannot be sure of the identities of all persons that have ever worked for Bosasa or its subsidiaries."

Ramaphosa added that although he could not remember meeting the Bosasa executives in the 1990s, he learnt that its former COO Angelo Agrizzi worked for Grantham Catering which rendered catering services to the mines. Grantham Catering was a subsidiary of his former employer, services and facilities management company Molope Group. Agrizzi has since turned into a whistle blower and gave explosive testimony before the Zondo commission.

"I worked for the Molope Group of companies, and thereafter Rebserve, which bought relevant portions of Molope, from 1999 to 2003. Prior to that I was chairman of the Molope Group from 1996. I understand that Mr Aggrizzi left the employ of Grantham Catering in 1997. It is entirely possible that I may have interacted with Mr Aggrizzi at the time but I have no recollection of having done so," the president said.

"In addition, Mr Watson and some of his siblings were actively involved in the United Democratic Front in their home town of Port Elizabeth so it is entirely possible I may have met him or interacted with him in that context decades ago, though I have no personal recollection of ever doing so."

Former Bosasa fleet manager and buyer Frans Vorster testified how former Cabinet minister Nomvula Mokonyane was at Bosasa's beck and call when she was Gauteng premier between 2009 and 2014. Voster alleged that Mokonyane facilitated the use of part of Bosasa's call centre for the West Rand ANC for election campaigning. Bosasa set up computers, desks and phone lines for the ANC group of between 20 to 25 people ahead of the 2014 general elections, Voster testified.

African News Agency (ANA)