After more than a decade of legal battles and animosity between Please Call Me inventor Nkosana Makate and Vodacom, it seems like things are finally coming to a head this week.
In 2007, Makate came up with a service that allowed people with no airtime to send an SMS to a contact, asking them to “please call me”. Vodacom soon lifted the idea and implemented it as their own policy, both at home and in countries overseas.
Please Call Me: Nkosana Makate vs Vodacom
The Constitutional Court had ordered the telecommunications giant to agree a remuneration package with Makate – whose allegedly seeking as much as R70 billion in compensation. Talks have been at a stalemate for a long time, resulting in supporters laying down a deadline for the company.
Activists have confirmed that Vodacom have until 10:00 on Thursday morning to cough up the money they believe is owed to Makate. Should they fail to meet these demands, things are going to turn sour…
Mass protests outside head office
Protesters are already planning to go to Vodaworld – the head office of the company in Midrand, Johannesburg – to lead a large-scale demonstration. They are vowing to shut down operations at the centre and have even made provisions to stay there on Friday, too. Thinking ahead, the office has already been closed ahead of any protest action.
The Please Call Me Movement has given #Vodacom until 10AM today to resolve its stalemate with the inventor, Nkosana Makate. The movement has confirmed that it will not back down on its plans to shut down Vodaworld in Midrand, Johannesburg, this morning #sabcnews #safmsunrise pic.twitter.com/0vEQPIxxL0
— SAfm news (@SAfmnews) January 31, 2019
“Occupy Vodacom”
Political support is growing, particularly after Gauteng MEC Panyaza Lefusi was issued with a cease and desist order from Vodacom, asking him to stop discussing the issue in public. The EFF and BLF have also vowed to take action, and that will result in stores being “occupied” by their ground forces. As we’ve seen before, this never really ends well.
The only way #Vodacom can pay out what is due to #PleaseCallMe investor is when EFF ground forces can stand up. Rest assured we will StandUp once we finish with the Manifesto on Saturday.
Only EFF can make the arrogant WMC go down on its knees.
— I’m Mmapula (@Mmaps_ThePro) January 30, 2019
A mass exodus from the network
Many Vodacom users have taken to social media to declare their intentions to migrate to a different network. Should Vodacom fail to pay Makate on Thursday, you can expect this campaign to snowball.
I’m about to be a an @MTNza customer. Been with @Vodacom for almost 20yrs
All because Vodacom is playing ‘not nice’ with other children #PayMakate #vodacom
— Lsg (@boltbolaya) January 30, 2019
Vodacom share price to take a hit
The saga has escalated this week, and has already caused reputational damage to the company. However, with the added negative PR image these mass protests will cause – as well as the potential of losing thousands of customers – Vodacom could see the value of their business drop significantly.
A quick glance at their financial performance over January shows us their share price dropped 12% over the past two weeks. A further 1.29% was shaved off the value at the close of business on Wednesday. With the Please Call Me saga set for an escalation, failure to compensate Makate could see Vodacom pay for it in other ways.
