Johannesburg- The story of Nkosana Makate is a lesson of courage, hope and triumph over adversity. As an ordinary guy from the township, he was determined to put up a fight for what belonged to him.
The 45-year-old Makate, born and raised in Gauteng’s Katlehong township, is the inventor of Vodacom’s much-acclaimed “Please Call Me” service, for which, he says, the telecommunications giant cheated him out of billions of rand that his creativity brought to the firm.
Speaking to Sunday World in the aftermath of this week’s Pretoria High Court judgment, which ordered that Vodacom recalculate the R47-million in compensation it was giving him, Makate said Vodacom brought the lawsuit on themselves by committing an injustice and stealing his creativity.
He said before deciding to pursue the legal route, he had on numerous occasions pleaded with the company executives to offer him a fair deal, but they wanted to swindle him out of the concept.
“All that we had to wait for was to finalise my share in revenue and for the product to be technically viable and commercially successful. I came to Vodacom with an honest open heart, having unearthed what was to be a hugely successful product, which they immediately liked,” said Makate. Makate said he still had vivid recollections of November 20 2000, when he wrote the conceptual memorandum in the early hours of the morning.
“I knew I was on the money; I knew this would be massive and create massive value for Vodacom. It turned out to be a world first. Vodacom executives even told me not to let anyone know about this while they took it for development and testing. But it would later appear that they had ulterior motives,” said Makate.
The legal battle between Makate and Vodacom has dragged on for over 20 years. In the latest round of litigation, this week Judge Wendy Hughes ordered that Vodacom reconsider the R47-million compensation that it was offering to Makate on grounds that the offer was unreasonable and unfair.
Hughes said a fair compensation would amount to 5% of the total revenue generated from the “Please Call Me” service, which began operating in March 2001. She also said the service had generated billions in revenue and it was only just that Makate was fairly compensated for his creation. Makate, who was an employee of the mobile giant before the fallout, said although the legal journey was frustrating and full of uncertainty, he had to soldier on.
“I guess I was always driven by the deep feeling of an injustice that Vodacom executives meted out on me. Having proposed and made it clear that I wanted to be part of the success of the concept that I had brought to the company, and proposed that I share in its success on a win-win basis, and then accept that condition and then turn back on their undertakings,” he said.
He said it was a sense of betrayal that drove him to fight. “When I tried enquiring and wanting us to confirm our agreement, they became more distant. I would later learn that Alan Knott -Craig had apparently told Mr Phillip Geissler that I was greedy, and I will never get a cent out of the “Please Call Me” product.
“Those words broke my spirit because I came with an open and trusting heart, aft er all Vodacom was family and I trusted all executives there, especially Mr Knott-Craig, whom I held in high regard having joined the company in 1995 straight from school at the age of 18. “The appetite to fight on has not been greater than now.
This judgment has refuelled me,” said Makate. He said he wasn’t fazed by Vodacom’s intention to appeal the ruling, saying their objective was to out-litigate him, but it had not worked. “What is important is that the CEO is an independent party in this litigation, and he indicated under oath that he will abide by the court order; we, therefore, expect him to deliver the calculation as instructed by the court .”
He conceded that although the legal fees had run into millions, by the grace of God, he had managed. Vodacom is believed to have made more than R200-billion since the “Please Call Me” invention kicked off.
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