JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's leading cellular company Vodacom will oppose a judicial review launched by Nkosana Makate, who is demanding to be compensated over 10 billion Rand (about 650 million U. S. dollars) for his "Please Call Me" idea.
Makate has filed court papers at the North Gauteng High court after Vodacom offered him 47 million Rand in compensation.
Vodacom's spokesperson Byron Kennedy told Xinhua, "As the matter is once again before the courts, we are not in a position to comment on the merits of the application suffice to say that we will oppose the application."
Makate invented "Please Call Me" idea that allows customers with a zero balance to send a message to other mobile users without being charged.
According to reports, he pitched the idea to the company and was informed that he would receive a share in the revenue, but that never happened until the matter was taken to court.
The apex court ruled in 2016 that the two parties must start negotiations and determine a reasonable amount payable to Makate. However, negotiations failed after Vodacom offered him 47 million rand. While Makate has accused Vodacom of acting in bad faith, the company rejected it.
"Vodacom still holds the view that it entered into negotiations and negotiated with Mr. Makate and his team in good faith, in accordance with the Order of the Constitutional Court," the spokesperson said.
In his latest court papers, Makate said that Vodacom has generated over 205 billion rands in revenue in 18 years and demands 5 percent of that.
