Neom: Bosses at Saudi megacity accused of 'racism, misogyny and corruption'
Senior executives leading Saudi Arabia's Neom megacity project have been accused of racism, misogyny and corruption, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal published on Wednesday.
The $500bn new Saudi megacity - which organisers claim will be 33 times the size of New York City - is planned to include a 170km straight-line city, an eight-sided city that floats on water, and a ski resort with a folded vertical village, amongst other grandiose projects.
Wayne Borg, Neom's Australian managing director in charge of media, has made several discriminatory and racist comments, the report revealed.
In one incident, after three workers on the project had died, Borg said: “A whole bunch of people die so we’ve got to have a meeting on a Sunday night.”
He went on to call South Asian migrant workers at Neom "fucking morons", adding "that is why white people are at the top of the pecking order". The comments were made on a phone call, the audio of which was obtained by the WSJ.
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In another conversation regarding the worker deaths, Borg said, "you can't train for stupidity" and "the white blokes are at the top of the tree".
One of the workers reportedly died due to a falling pipe, while a wall collapsed on another. The third worker died from mishandling explosives, according to current and former employees cited in the report.
'The white blokes are at the top of the tree'
- Wayne Borg, Neom managing director, media
In a separate incident, Borg was summoned by human resources after calling a Black female employee a "Black shit", according to former workers at Neom. Borg denied using the phrase.
In a message to the employee in question, Borg reportedly said "I miss you" and your "arse is better than Beyonce's", with kiss emojis, according to a summary of the employees' grievances.
In a meeting about the incident, Borg referred to "that fucking episode I had with that Black bitch" - a comment that was heard in an audio recording and published by the WSJ.
According to other audio clips, Borg referred to women from the Gulf as "transvestites" and made lewd jokes about Islam and sexual positions.
'I drive everybody like a slave'
In a statement to the WSJ, Neom said it had a zero tolerance approach to inappropriate workplace behaviour, and would thoroughly investigate allegations of wrongdoing. A representative of Borg did not respond to a request for comment.
The report stated that other senior executives at Neom were accused of or investigated over a number of issues, including corruption and embezzlement.
One of those Neom executives, Antoni Vives, was convicted in 2021 by a Spanish court of corruption during a previous job in Barcelona's city hall. He had pleaded guilty to giving a friend a "no-show job" worth around $165,000 over four years, and agreed to a two year suspended prison sentence.
Vives resigned from Neom but was convinced to return, according to former employees. The sources said that Vives built a bond with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who reportedly said he did not care about Vives' crimes as long as they were not committed in Saudi Arabia.
In another reported incident, Vives argued with a construction manager and the two men subsequently wrestled each other.
Vives is now being sought by Spanish prosecutors on separate corruption charges.
Prosecutors are seeking a six-year prison sentence over accusations of criminal conspiracy, fraud and perversion of justice. Vives did not respond to a request for comment.
Neom's chief executive, Nadhmi al-Nasr, who has a reputation of being a difficult manager, said in one recording obtained by the WSJ: "I drive everybody like a slave".
The Neom megacity is a centrepiece of Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 strategy to move the Gulf kingdom away from oil reliance and enhance its reputation on the global stage.
In May, Middle East Eye reported that Saudi security officers were ordered to use lethal force to kill people who resisted eviction from areas earmarked for the city, according to a former Saudi intelligence officer.
The Saudi government has been accused of forcibly displacing members of the Howeitat tribe, who have lived for centuries in Tabuk, to make way for Neom.
At least 47 members of the tribe have been arrested or detained for resisting eviction, including five who have been sentenced to death, according to a report by the UK-based Alqst rights group.
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