Ramaphosa lose court case against Telkom probe
On the 25th of January 2022, South African Cyril Ramaphosa ordered a wide-ranging probe where he directed the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) to probe various dealings that took place at Telkom dating back to June 2006. Ramaphosa alleged unlawful conduct by Telkom and some of its employees and agents has been declared "unconstitutional, invalid and
Ramaphosa lose court case against Telkom probe
On the 25th of January 2022, South African Cyril Ramaphosa ordered a wide-ranging probe where he directed the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) to probe various dealings that took place at Telkom dating back to June 2006.
Ramaphosa alleged unlawful conduct by Telkom and some of its employees and agents has been declared “unconstitutional, invalid and of no force.” This includes the partially state-owned operator’s aborted foray into Nigeria which is said to have estimated over R10 million.
The telecommunications company, Telkom and Ramaphosa appeared at Pretoria High court where the proclamation was put aside after Telkom took the matter on review according to reports. The SIU investigation was also found invalid and set aside, and was ordered to return all the documents it obtained back to Telkom. The court found the decision to issue the proclamation was “unconstitutional, invalid and of no force or effect”.
Group CEO Serame Taukobong in a statement on Thursday, “The allegations in the proclamation had already been addressed by the company through Telkom’s corporate governance processes and the outcomes are of public record.”
The Telecoms company said it approached the court “because it is of the view that left unchallenged, the proclamation would set a dangerous precedence on the role of the state in private enterprise”.
“Telkom consistently upholds the principles of good corporate governance. It is unfortunate that Telkom needed to approach the courts on this matter, and we hope that this judgment brings it to finality,” Taukobong said.
The president asked the SIU to investigate:
- Maladministration in the affairs of Telkom in relation to the sale or disposal of Multi-Links Telecommunications, a company it acquired in Nigeria in 2006 that subsequently failed, and iWayAfrica and Africa Online Mauritius;
- The procurement of telegraph services (telex and telegrams); and
- Advisory services in respect of the broadband and mobile strategy of Telkom and payment made in a manner that was not fair, equitable, transparent or cost-effective, or contrary to applicable legislation or national treasury or Telkom rules.
The president, the SIU and the minister of communications and digital technologies, as well as Edward George Scott, representing a private company, had all opposed Telkom’s application to set aside both the proclamation and the resultant investigation into its affairs.
The company believes that Ramaphosa lacked particulars which are mandatory to complete the requirements for SIU investigation. Telkom believes that the president had no right to conduct the investigation as Telkom is majority owned by the investors and therefor was not a public state-owned entity. The government owns 40.5% of Telkom shares and the Government Employees Pension Fund own 15.3% of the shares while the rest are privately owned.
Judge Tlhapi agreed with Telkom that the president had no grounds to treat the company as a state-own, however the company is not excused from being investigated by the SIU, should the jurisdictional grounds be met.
