EOH was caught up in state capture 'war': Asher Bohbot

Loading player...
Thank you for listening to the TechCentral podcast. We take a break from our normal interview style in this podcast to bring you an extraordinary presentation delivered by Asher Bohbot, the former CEO of EOH -- and now its nonexecutive chairman -- at the company's interim results presentation in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
In the presentation, Bohbot said EOH was caught up in a "war" over state capture in South Africa.
Bohbot described the past year as one of "shock, anxiety and drama" for EOH and its employees.
In his extraordinary remarks, he both lashed out at the media's coverage of the company in the past year while at the same time praising journalists for unearthing corruption and state capture in South Africa.
"We can feel bitter, twisted, angry ... or we can choose to think about it differently," he said. "The way we see it is that EOH (and) our own people were part of the struggle for the changes that happened in this country in the middle of December. Without the media, pushing so hard ... I have zero doubt that the change that has happened -- and it was touch and go -- happened because of the media. The media carried that battle."
He continued: "...We don't see ourselves as victims. We are not victims. We have been part of that battle. In 20 years' time, we can say we were there... Maybe we were used as cannon fodder, but looking back (at it) in the scheme of the next 100 years, it's nothing. It's a cheap price to pay, for EOH and all of us in the country."
So, make it of it what you will, but it's certainly worth a listen. And please visit TechCentral.co.za for the full story.
28 Mar 2018 English South Africa Technology · Business

Other recent episodes

TCS | Sink or swim? Antony Makins on how AI is rewriting the rules of work

Artificial intelligence isn’t just changing how work gets done, it’s rewriting the rules of business. Organisations are scrambling to redefine processes and job descriptions, while employees are grappling with new tools and new ways of thinking that are transforming the way they approach their daily tasks. In this episode of…
5 Mar 40 min

Bolt ups the ante on platform safety

Safety is a core concern for e-hailing operators as it ensures that platforms engender trust among drivers, passengers and the general public. Bolt recently commissioned market research firm Ipsos to conduct research into the perceptions of rider safety in South Africa's e-hailing market. In this episode of TechCentral's TCS+, Simo…
4 Mar 13 min

Meet the CIO | Inside the JSE’s tech engine with CIO Tebalo Tsoaeli

Technology sits at the heart of modern capital markets, and nowhere is that more evident than at the JSE. In the latest episode of Meet the CIO, TechCentral editor Duncan McLeod sits down with Tebalo Tsoaeli, the bourse’s CIO, to unpack how technology underpins Africa’s largest stock exchange – and…
2 Feb 47 min

TCS+ | Cloud On Demand and Consnet: inside a real-world AWS partner success story

The cloud revolution has challenged businesses of all sizes by changing how IT teams go about implementing projects and managing infrastructure. IT service firms have been doubly challenged, having to sell a new computing paradigm to their clients while also practising what they preach and adopting cloud-first technologies in-house. Consnet…
30 Jan 25 min

Watts & Wheels S1E3: ‘BYD’s Corolla Cross challenger’

TechCentral’s electric car show Watts & Wheels is back for episode 3 of season 1, and while EVs remain the focus, the conversation takes a detour into something far less planet-friendly – and far more jaw-dropping. Duncan McLeod and co-host William Kelly kick off by drooling over a wild new…
30 Jan 36 min