Vodacom ordered to pay a minimum of R29 billion to Kenneth Makate, creator of Please Call Me

Vodacom could be liable to pay anything between R29 and R55 billion to Nkosana Makate in connection with the Please Call Me saga. This is much higher than the previous assumptions that were based on Makate’s earlier demand of at least R20 billion and the High Court filings.

A local online publisher, MyBroadband revealed that the Supreme Court of Appeal, which handed down its decision on the 6th of February, in effect, suggested this range of compensation based on different revenue models it looked at.

Under one model, it’s suggested that Vodacom’s total call revenue generated by the Please Call Me service amounted to R194,8 billion over 18 years while an alternative model suggests that the total call revenue generated as a result of the Please Call Me service amounted to R273.4 billion over the same period.

 

The Supreme Court of Appeal ordered that Vodacom pay Makate between 5 and 7.5% of these revenues which could be anything between R29 billion and R55 billion.

In the meantime, the telecommunications company is approaching the Constitutional Court to review the SCA’s decision.

If the apex court aligns itself with the Supreme Court and the High Court before it, such a reward could be catastrophic for Vodacom and all its stakeholders, including its customers.

Source: SABC

In other news – Marvel breaks big news on Valentine’s Day about Fantastic Four

The cast of Fantastic Four is here as Marvel tapped Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn for the new superhero team as the studio announced the news on Valentine’s Day.

Details related to the cast members included the Game of Thrones star as Reed Richard, the Mission Impossible actress who will be seen as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman. Read more