Durban - Penny Sparrow, who attained notoriety by calling black beachgoers “monkeys” on Facebook, resigned from Jawitz Properties two months ago, after she had failed to make a sale since joining the agency in May.
This was revealed by her former boss, Avanti Low, who said Sparrow, in her sixties, had been a poor performer.
“Penny left in November,” said Avanti. “She had not made any sale since she joined in May; she was not a very active agent. As an agent, it costs you because you have to go out looking for clients, make phone calls using your own airtime, and drive people around to view properties using your petrol – and Penny didn’t make a single sale, so she didn’t make any money here.”
Avanti said Sparrow was “an old woman” who had health complications as she was diabetic. “She was not well. She went for cataract surgery in July. I don’t know what happened but when she came out, she almost died, and was not at work for six weeks. When she came back she didn’t have vision in one eye, so dealing with clients and driving around was an issue.
“It didn’t surprise me that she was going to leave to work for her daughter, which meant she would get a fixed salary every month.”
The office in Scottburgh, where Sparrow worked was hardly noticeable, but now people passing by point and look closer. “This week has been full of turmoil, scary. It has been overwhelming since Penny posted her comments and the repercussions we have had.
“When I phoned her to ask her to remove our name from her Facebook profile, it was already too late. We didn’t know the phone could ring so many times; we received hundreds of calls from people wanting to speak to her, and when we said she didn’t work here, they kept saying she was here.
“Other people came to our office wanting to see her. I have always maintained that politics, religion and sexual discussion are not allowed in the office and that is why she has never shown any signs of racism.
“I don’t think she would have even done it with me. She knew I was the first non-white agent in this town. And I have had my share of people giving me hassles because of my race.”
Avanti said some callers accused her of being a racist, because she was “shielding” Sparrow. Some were abusive and threatening, she said.
Sparrow’s former colleague, Vera Johnson said: “I am angry at what I read and the perception I get from what she said, the little I knew of her, she meant what she said.
“I still can’t believe she said it. It is so nasty. My support and loyalty go to Avanti and the brand that I joined.”
Jawitz Properties’ chief executive officer, Herschel Jawitz, said he was liaising with his attorneys on the matter: “We are exploring legal options and are engaging our industry regulatory body to ensure Penny Sparrow is held accountable.
“As the head of our company, I feel personally and professionally the same anger and outrage as does the public.”
The company said Sparrow’s comment had taught them a lesson – to implement a social media policy for all its employees and to ensure that when an employee left, their work profile on social media was updated.
Sunday Tribune
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