UPDATE: Stacey and J Sbu spoke to Vodacom 'Please Call Me' inventor Nkosana Makate
A bit more than a penny for Nkosana's thoughts...
The on-going battle between this employee and employer has Mzansi keeping a close eye on the court case.
It has been a journey and a half since Nkosana Makate took Vodacom to court for compensation for his "Please call me" invention.
More than two decades in a legal battle and the legal tussle will now be heard in the Supreme Court of Appeal next year.
IOL shares that: "Vodacom is appealing against the judgment delivered by the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, in February ordering its CEO, Shameel Joosub, to go back to the drawing board to calculate exactly what Makate should get for his invention."
Judge Wendy Hughes made it clear in her ruling that the calculations used by Joosub in offering Makate R47-million for what she called a brilliant invention was by far too conservative.
Experts share that "Vodacom will not budge" on this matter.
At this juncture, both parties are awaiting a date for the matter to be heard.
Stay tuned for more on this developing story.
In case you missed it, here's an exclusive chat with the employee and the original story:
Nkosana Makate is a young and bright man who used to be employed by Vodacom.
We were able to speak to him and get the inside scoop of what's currently going on.
LISTEN BELOW
Nkosana invented the 'Please Call Me (PCM)' concept launched in March 2001, which allows a moneyless mobile phone subscriber to send a message to be called back by another person with airtime. It generated huge amounts of money for Vodacom.
However, Nkosana did not receive a cent for his efforts.
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Things took a turn when the High Court ruled that Vodacom's 'Please Call Me (PCM)' inventor, Nkosana, is entitled to 5% of the total voice revenue generated from the micro-text service from March 2001 to March 2021.
This was a big relief for Nkosana, as it has been a marathon of a battle with this matter. He has been emotionally drained and it has been taxing on his family.
It was a 21-year battle to seek compensation for his idea.
The court ordered Vodacom to implement this court order within a month.
Initially, Nkosana had asked for a total of R47-million from the giant mobile phone operator. Vodacom refused, hence why this matter was elevated to court.
This order comes as a "big relief" to Nkosana and his family and he will most likely walk away with more than the R47-million.
Nkosana notably mentioned that the calculations have been severely incorrect, hence why the court accepted Nkosana's plea.
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However, Vodacom is planning on contesting this court ruling, as they are unwilling to pay.
Nkosana's team has done its homework and determined that R10.25-billion (including interest) was owed to their client.
Nkosana has said: “I will see off the last 3km as patiently as possible. Fighting Vodacom ... has not been easy for someone like me".
Not only could this court battle "break" Vodacom's bank, but it could also affect Nkosana and his family's income gravely.
We all know that Vodacom has deep pockets but for Nkosana this is the opposite.
People have asked if his legal fees may have ballooned to the extent that they would take the bulk of his compensation. However, Nkosana said: “That is speculation. There is nothing like that.”
Soon after Tuesday’s ruling, Vodacom vowed to appeal, stating: “Vodacom remains of the view its negotiations with Mr Makate were held in good faith, as determined in the order of the Constitutional Court issued on April 26 2016.”
Nkosana ended off by telling us he is not stopping here. He has "invested his life in the product".
We hope that the matter will finally be resolved and this won't be another long-term corporate battle.
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