Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Legislative overhaul on the cards for South Africa’s ICT sector

      14 July 2025

      The 1940s visionary who imagined the Information Age

      14 July 2025

      Trump tariffs could wreck South Africa’s vehicle manufacturing industry

      14 July 2025

      Microsoft South Africa to get new MD as Lillian Barnard moves to regional role

      14 July 2025

      Zuckerberg used open source to scale AI – now the lock-in begins

      14 July 2025
    • World

      Grok 4 arrives with bold claims and fresh controversy

      10 July 2025

      Bitcoin pushes higher into record territory

      10 July 2025

      Cupertino vs Brussels: Apple challenges Big Tech crackdown

      7 July 2025

      Grammarly acquires e-mail start-up Superhuman

      1 July 2025

      Apple considers ditching its own AI in Siri overhaul

      1 July 2025
    • In-depth

      Siemens is battling Big Tech for AI supremacy in factories

      24 June 2025

      The algorithm will sing now: why musicians should be worried about AI

      20 June 2025

      Meta bets $72-billion on AI – and investors love it

      17 June 2025

      MultiChoice may unbundle SuperSport from DStv

      12 June 2025

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025
    • TCS

      TCS+ | MVNX on the opportunities in South Africa’s booming MVNO market

      11 July 2025

      TCS | Connecting Saffas – Renier Lombard on The Lekker Network

      7 July 2025

      TechCentral Nexus S0E4: Takealot’s big Post Office jobs plan

      4 July 2025

      TCS | Tech, townships and tenacity: Spar’s plan to win with Spar2U

      3 July 2025

      TCS+ | First Distribution on the latest and greatest cloud technologies

      27 June 2025
    • Opinion

      In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

      30 June 2025

      E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

      30 June 2025

      South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

      17 June 2025

      AI and the future of ICT distribution

      16 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CambriLearn
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SevenC
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » News » Delayed payouts still haunt MTN Zakhele

    Delayed payouts still haunt MTN Zakhele

    By Ray Mahlaka22 May 2017
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp

    MTN Zakhele, the black economic empowerment scheme of telecommunications giant MTN Group, said it’s still processing payments to shareholders who opted to cash in their shares after the scheme expired in November last year.

    It has been nearly seven months since the Zakhele scheme expired and several shareholders are yet to receive their payouts. This is despite a Zakhele circular, which noted that the majority of shareholders would be paid by 13 December 2016.

    When Moneyweb first reported about the delays in payouts to shareholders in January, MTN said 80% of shareholders had been paid and outstanding payments would be made before the end of February 2017.

    Zakhele, which owned a 4% stake in MTN Group, was launched in 2010 as part of the company’s empowerment initiative.

    About 124 000 Zakhele investors were given three options when the scheme expired: accept a combination of converting a portion of their Zakhele shares into MTN Group shares and take cash, reinvest their shares into a newly-launched BEE scheme called MTN Zakhele Futhi, or wholly take cash for their shares.

    However, some shareholders are still complaining about not receiving their payouts despite repeated calls to Zakhele’s call centre.

    “To date, I have not received my MTN shares and proceeds after converting from MTN Zakhele to the listed MTN,” said one shareholder, who opted to convert a portion of his Zakhele shares into MTN Group shares and take cash.

    Another shareholder who opted for the same combination said: “I haven’t been paid for the cash-out option to date and I’m extremely concerned.”

    Sydney Mhlarhi, director of investment holding firm Tamela, who is adviser to Zakhele, said that to date, about 87% of shareholders have been paid and the scheme is now dealing with the last batch of outstanding payments.

    “There was quite a bit of backlog in unprocessed payments after the Christmas break. That backlog of unprocessed payments has now been cleared. But there is definitely still money due to some shareholders,” he said.

    Mhlarhi said the reason for delays is two-fold: shareholders could have changed their contact details resulting in Zakhele’s difficulties in contacting them about their unclaimed proceeds or shareholders didn’t verify their bank accounts.

    Prior to making payments to shareholders, a bank account verification process was undertaken and only those shareholders whose bank accounts failed verification were not paid, he said.

    The service provider has the capacity to deal with complaints as they have handled more complaints in the past

    Shareholders whose accounts failed the verification process were required to provide documents to update their bank details including a stamped bank letter or a certified bank statement that is less than three months old (as part of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act) in order for payments to be processed into valid bank accounts.

    Mhlarhi said an initiative to contact shareholders has been launched.

    The nature of other complaints received from shareholders include inquiries about proceeds for a deceased estate which is “complicated” as a living would determine the beneficiary of the proceeds.

    Beyond the delays in payouts, shareholders complained about Zakhele’s poor communication channels.

    For example, a daughter of a 72-year-old man (who wished to remain anonymous) has lodged a complaint with the Financial Services Ombudsman office after her father attempted to contact Zakhele’s call centre since January to confirm the number of MTN shares he owns after converting a portion of his Zakhele shares into MTN shares. But his attempts to reach Zakhele have since been unsuccessful. “No one is able to assist when a call is made to the centre, or the call gets dropped… The disdain with which MTN has treated my father and his queries is concerning,” she said.

    Mhlarhi said Zakhele’s centre is able to deal with complaints as there isn’t a backlog of unpaid proceeds.

    “The service provider has the capacity to deal with complaints as they have handled more complaints in the past. The volume of enquiries has dropped. In January, we were processing up to 400 payments per day but now we roughly processing 50 to 100 payments a day.”

    • This article was originally published on Moneyweb and is used here with permission


    MTN MTN Zakhele Sydney Mhlarhi Zakhele
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleE-tolls mess just got even messier
    Next Article Ramaphosa again calls for ‘state capture’ probe

    Related Posts

    Spam call epidemic: operators say their hands are tied

    10 July 2025

    MTN – the network for networks

    25 June 2025

    Listed: All the MVNOs in South Africa – 2025 edition

    19 June 2025
    Company News

    Obsidian Systems makes the case for Linux in modern infrastructure

    14 July 2025

    Banking on LEO: Q-KON transforms financial services connectivity

    14 July 2025

    The future of business calling: Voys brings your landline to the cloud

    14 July 2025
    Opinion

    In defence of equity alternatives for BEE

    30 June 2025

    E-commerce in ICT distribution: enabler or disruptor?

    30 June 2025

    South Africa pioneered drone laws a decade ago – now it must catch up

    17 June 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.