The mobile operator must just settle the ‘please call me’ saga already — it can easily afford to; writes Gugu Lourie in the Sunday Times.

In recent days, I’ve faced criticism and accusations from Vodacom employees, business partners and concerned individuals. Some accused me of advocating for Vodacom’s demise in my previous column, in which I argued that the company’s 25-year legal battle against Nkosana Makate must end with fair compensation for the “please call me” (PCM) inventor.

My critics claim that paying Makate the R9.4bn he is demanding and rightfully deserves would cripple the mobile operator, leading to mass retrenchments and financial ruin for entrepreneurs who depend on the company.

Some even argue — erroneously — that Makate’s PCM innovation does not generate revenue because it is free. The facts paint a very different picture.

Follow this link to read the full story: Really Vodacom, it’s enough now

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JUSTICE DEFERRED For more than 9,131 days — almost a quarter of a century — Nkosana Makate has fought for fair compensation from the telecom giant that profited billions from his idea. File photo.

Image: Thapelo Morebudi

This past weekend, I rewatched ReMastered: The Lion’s Share, the heartbreaking 2019 documentary about Solomon Linda, the Zulu musician who composed Mbube (later The Lion Sleeps Tonight) in 1939. The documentary chronicles South African journalist Riaan Malan’s efforts to help Linda’s family secure fair compensation.

When Linda died in 1962, he had just $25 in his bank account, while those who appropriated his music and culture continued to smile all the way to their banks.

It took decades of global legal battles before Linda’s three daughters each received about $250,000 (R4.8m) from a settlement that expired in 2017 — a paltry sum compared to earnings from their father’s song.

“The whole case seemed to be infused with huge symbolic significance for South Africans, for a nation that had been on the losing side of history for such a long time,” Malan observed.