TOBY SHAPSHAK: A minister who is out of touch
If the president argues for the importance of telecoms, why are the ministers for that sector all out of touch?
What is it about the portfolio that communications ministers so often seem bereft of good judgment? In the ongoing Please Call me saga between Vodacom and its former employee Nkosana Makate, minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams last month tweeted: "Just shut up, Vodacom, and do the right thing. Talk to Makate, instead of this poor PR stunt. Don’t talk to us until you have reached a settlement with him and his team." It is the most partisan display by a minister since then mineral resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane promoted the Guptas’ state capture interests. Ndabeni-Abrahams is responsible for a sector vital to the fourth industrial revolution, but publicly attacks a key stakeholder, which is also the largest company in SA by customers. Not only is this unbecoming of a minister, but it reveals her ignorance of a legal process mandated by the constitutional court. After talks deadlocked, Vodacom CEO Shameel Joosub offered "reasonable compensation" as instructed by the top court, reporte...
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