Please Call Me Movement protest against Vodacom

A group known as the Please Call Me Movement, protested outside the gates of Vodaworld in Midrand on Mandela Day, 18 July.

Vodacom has not yet paid a former employee best known for inventing the Please Call Me concept, Nkosana Makate. Protesters arrived in buses from various areas in support of Makate.

Makate and Vodacom have been in a battle regarding a settlement for years, but in 2016, the Constitutional Court ruled that the mobile company must pay Makate.

The two parties have met on numerous occasions to try and reach a settlement but, to date, no amount has been agreed upon.

Vodacom representatives made an appearance on the day to accept the memorandum and have been granted 14 days to respond.

Bongo Futuse from Vodacom said the mobile company and Makate are yet to agree on an amount which must be paid. “At the moment the matter is with the CEO of Vodacom, who is prioritising the matter and is expected to propose a figure,” said Futuse.

“One thing people must be aware of is that the matter is between Makate and Vodacom and not between Vodacom and the Please Call Me Movement.”

A representative of the movement, as well as a member of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), Tebogo Sithole from Boksburg, said he joined the protest action against Vodacom because he believes that the mobile company is undermining Makate which is why the payment process is taking this long.

“First of all, Vodacom did not want to pay Makate which is why the matter was settled in court in favour of Makate, but now the company is taking forever to pay,” said Sithole.