Will there be Vodacom price hikes when Please Call Me idea-man gets his payday?

Vodacom may need to hike prices and slash its wage bill to cut costs, resulting in job losses to make up the money when Please Call Me idea-man gets the massive payday he’s after.

WILL THERE BE VODACOM PRICE HIKES WHEN PLEASE CALL ME IDEA-MAN GETS HIS PAYDAY?

Last week, the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) effectively dismissed an appeal by Vodacom. It ruled in favour of the Please Call Me idea-man, Kenneth Nkosana Makate.

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Makate, a former Vodacom finance manager, is credited with presenting the basic idea that was ultimately developed into “Please Call Me”.

The case made it all the way to the Constitutional Court, which ruled that Makate was owed compensation.

According to a report by MyBroadBand, SCA has ordered Vodacom to pay Makate a minimum of R29 billion for his Please Call Me idea.

The report states court documents, which MyBroadband has seen, revealed that Vodacom was ordered to pay Makate between R28.99 billion and R55.37 billion.

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THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT RULED THAT MAKATE WAS OWED COMPENSATION

Makate reporteldy said Please Call Me (PCM) generated R250 billion for Vodacom, and they owe him R20 billion for proposing it.

Makate was a Vodacom finance manager at the time. He pitched his idea of a method to “buzz” someone else’s phone without airtime to a superior on 21 November 2000.

The service ultimately became Please Call Me. He has been fighting Vodacom for 15 years for compensation, which his manager promised him.

Joosub offered Makate R47 million after a deadlock arose. However, he rejected the offer and challenged it in court.

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HE REJECTED THE R47 MILLION COMPENSATION OFFER

In 2022, the High Court ordered Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub to recalculate the offer. The court added that Makate was entitled to at least 5% of all PCM revenue.

Vodacom appealed this ruling. However, the SCA dismissed Vodacom and Joosub’s appeal and confirmed the High Court’s order.

It ruled that Vodacom must pay Makate between 5% and 7.5% of the total voice revenue generated by the Please Call Me product over 18 years, plus interest.

Makate’s legal team previously calculated that Vodacom generated R205 billion over 18 years through PCM.

IT IS BELIEVED THAT MAKATE WANTS AROUND R20 BILLION COMPENSATION

Adding interest, Makate wants around R20 billion from Vodacom.

Makate said his idea generated 12 billion please call me messages annually for Vodacom.

“Through Please Call Me, Vodacom generated over R250 billion in its South African operations alone,” he said.

HE SAID THE SERVICE WAS ROLLED OUT TO 19 COUNTRIES

Makate furthermore added is not even claiming compensation for revenue in the 19 countries where Vodacom rolled out the Please Call Me service.

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