Makate fought the good fight but should settle
NKOSANA Makate has been fighting Vodacom, his former employer, over a “please call me” invention for more than 18 years. That’s a long time.
It takes courage for a person who doesn’t have the means to fight a big company that has money and resources. It’s a David-andGoliath scenario.
I admire Makate’s courage and tenacity. If it were somebody else, he or she would have given up a long time ago.
The matter between Makate and Vodacom has played itself out in court.
It has gone as far as the Constitutional Court, the highest court in the land, which has ruled in his favour. The verdict was that Vodacom should pay its former employee a fair and reasonable amount.
However, the giant cellphone company has been playing hide-and-seek regarding the settlement. As they say, justice delayed is justice denied.
It has since emerged that Vodacom is offering Makate R49 million as a settlement, which he has not accepted. It has apparently said it won’t pay him more. The company is negotiating in bad faith. A take-it-or-leave-it approach is not the way to go. It exposes the company’s arrogance.
On the other hand, Makate is demanding R70 billion from Vodacom. How did he reach that amount? The gap between R49m and R70bn is huge.
If the two parties stick to their guns, they will never reach an agreement. In the spirit of fairness, the matter should be concluded speedily.
Interestingly, the R70bn demand by Makate has divided the nation, black people in particular.
Some hold the view that the demand is outrageous. Others believe he deserves it and more because Vodacom has made huge profits out of his invention.
While I hold the view that Makate deserves to be compensated for his invention, I too feel his demand is extreme. I don’t think Vodacom will pay him that amount. And I’m sure if the matter goes back to court, Vodacom won’t be ordered to pay R70bn.
He should reconsider and lower his demand. Otherwise, the matter will take another 18 years before it’s resolved.
THABILE MANGE Kagiso