Vodacom highly rated

MOBILE telecommunications company Vodacom was adjudged to have the best reputation of the top 20 JSE-listed companies, the Reputation Institute said yesterday.

Vodacom scored 74.17 out of a possible 100 points in the RepTrak Pulse survey, which was a 6.64-point improvement on its performance last year.

The survey measures companies’ reputations by rating them on their products and services, innovation, performance, citizenship, workplace governance and leadership.

Old Mutual was ranked second highest, with an overall score of 69.94.

The institute’s Africa partner, Dominik Heil, said that Vodacom’s holistic application of its business strategy was the possible reason for its success in the survey. “This is apparent from Vodacom’s consistent scores in all the reputation drivers,” said Heil.

The institute’s manager for South Africa, Trevor Ndlazi, said that over the past five years innovation had become increasingly important for the country’s businesses.

“South Africans want companies to innovate and respond to their specific needs,” he said. “They are tired of companies ‘recycling’ goods and services.”

MTN, which came second in last year’s survey, was fifth this year.

Telkom did not feature in the top 20 companies, after coming 17th last year.

The survey, which was conducted during January and February, collected more than 3 000 ratings from economically active respondents in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape.

Almost all respondents had a medium-to-high level of education.

Some large South African companies were excluded because the general public was not familiar with them.

The top 20 companies were: Vodacom (74.17 points); Old Mutual (69.94); Pick n Pay (69.38); Sasol (69.05); MTN (68.93); Sanlam (68.89); Standard Bank (68.50); Absa (66.22); Nedbank (65.42); Shoprite (64.01); SABMiller (59.97); Bidvest (59.38); Barloworld (53.55); Imperial Holdings (53.02); Anglo American (51.90); AngloGold Ashanti (50.41); BHP Billiton (49.90); British American Tobacco (48.98); Massmart (48.29); and Goldfields (48.18). – Sapa LOW-COST African airline Fastjet could start operating in South Africa in partnership with an investment company linked to one of President Jacob Zuma’s sons, it was announced yesterday.

Under a memorandum of understanding signed with Blockbuster, Fastjet could start operating on the Johannesburg to Cape Town route by the end of next month, it said.

Blockbuster, which would own a 75 percent stake in the entity, is associated with Edward Zuma and businessman Yusuf Kajee.

“Fastjet seeks to meet… demand, and we look forward to bringing the people of Africa the continent’s first low-cost, point-to-point, all-jet airline, operating to international standards of safety and quality,” said Fastjet chairman David Lenigas. – Sapa

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