TechCentralTechCentral
    Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    NEWSLETTER
    • News

      Consortium makes unsolicited bid for state’s 40% stake in Telkom

      12 August 2022

      Actually, solar users should pay more to access the grid – here’s why

      12 August 2022

      Fixing SA’s power crisis is not complex: it simply takes the will to do better

      12 August 2022

      Telkom says MTN talks remain on track

      12 August 2022

      Analysis | Rain muddies the waters with approach to Telkom

      11 August 2022
    • World

      Tencent woes mount, even after $560-billion selloff

      12 August 2022

      Huawei just booked its first sales rise since US blacklisting

      12 August 2022

      Apple remains upbeat about iPhone sales even as Android world suffers

      12 August 2022

      Ether at two-month high as upgrade to blockchain passes major test

      12 August 2022

      Gaming industry’s fortunes fade as pandemic ends

      11 August 2022
    • In-depth

      African unicorn Flutterwave battles fires on multiple fronts

      11 August 2022

      The length of Earth’s days has been increasing – and no one knows why

      7 August 2022

      As Facebook fades, the Mad Men of advertising stage a comeback

      2 August 2022

      Crypto breaks the rules. That’s the point

      27 July 2022

      E-mail scams are getting chillingly personal

      17 July 2022
    • Podcasts

      Qush on infosec: why prevention is always better than cure

      11 August 2022

      e4’s Adri Führi on encouraging more women into tech careers

      10 August 2022

      How South Africa can woo more women into tech

      4 August 2022

      Book and check-in via WhatsApp? FlySafair is on it

      28 July 2022

      Interview: Why Dell’s next-gen PowerEdge servers change the game

      28 July 2022
    • Opinion

      No reason South Africa should have a shortage of electricity: Ramaphosa

      11 July 2022

      Ntshavheni’s bias against the private sector

      8 July 2022

      South Africa can no longer rely on Eskom alone

      4 July 2022

      Has South Africa’s advertising industry lost its way?

      21 June 2022

      Rob Lith: What Icasa’s spectrum auction means for SA companies

      13 June 2022
    • Company Hubs
      • 1-grid
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Amplitude
      • Atvance Intellect
      • Axiz
      • BOATech
      • CallMiner
      • Digital Generation
      • E4
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • IBM
      • Kyocera Document Solutions
      • Microsoft
      • Nutanix
      • One Trust
      • Pinnacle
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Tarsus on Demand
      • Videri Digital
      • Zendesk
    • Sections
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Motoring and transport
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home»News»Vodacom remains hopeful on Neotel deal

    Vodacom remains hopeful on Neotel deal

    News By Duncan McLeod9 September 2015
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Vuyani Jarana
    Vuyani Jarana

    Vodacom its still confident that its R7bn acquisition of Neotel will go ahead, despite a protracted investigation by the Competition Tribunal and allegations of impropriety by Neotel executives over the awarding of a lucrative telecommunications contract by Transnet.

    Vuyani Jarana, chief officer of Vodacom Business, said on Wednesday that he expects the Competition Tribunal to wrap up its probe of the deal in November. The Competition Commission has recommended that the deal be approved, but imposed a number of conditions, including that Vodacom not be allowed to make use of Neotel’s spectrum for a period of about two years.

    Jarana said the suspension of Neotel CEO Sunil Joshi and chief financial officer Steven Whiley over a potential bribery scandal involving what may have been corrupt payments to a third party to secure a multibillion-rand contract at Transnet should be and is being dealt with by Neotel’s board of directors.

    He said Vodacom parent, the UK-based Vodafone, has not communicated anything formal to its subsidiary about what to do regarding the allegations.

    According to a recent report in the Mail & Guardian, Neotel may have made dodgy payments to a company called Homix in order to secure a telecoms contract worth R1,8bn from Transnet.

    Quoting correspondence from Neotel’s auditors, Deloitte, which the M&G said it has seen, Neotel paid a 2% “success fee” to Homix of R36m to secure the Transnet deal. In addition, Homix was promised a further R25m to secure the related sale of Neotel assets to Transnet, though this money hasn’t been paid, the newspaper said.

    The report raised questions about the role of Transnet finance chief Anoj Singh as well as Neotel’s Joshi in ensuring the payments to Homix. Joshi allegedly ordered his staff to pay the R36m to Homix after meeting with Singh and securing payment from Transnet to Neotel. The M&G said Transnet has denied that Singh was party to any discussions about a payment to Homix.

    Jarana said anyone, “regardless of who they are”, would be concerned about allegations such as the ones levelled against Neotel. “But they are there for Neotel and its board to deal with. It’s not for us to be involved in it. We have a programme we are running with to do the acquisition.”

    He said Vodacom is participating fully in the Competition Tribunal process with the expectation of a successful outcome.

    But what if the deal is blocked, or what if Vodacom has to walk away because of the corruption allegations?

    “If the deal doesn’t come through, we have always maintained we are investing in the business in any case in terms of the access network, and so on,” Jarana said.

    “Neotel is important to us, but we are continuing to invest in fibre to the home and fibre to the business in any case. Our programme will not be derailed, but it will slow down our pace [if the acquisition doesn’t happen].”  — © 2015 NewsCentral Media

    Homix Neotel Steven Whiley Sunil Joshi Transnet Vodacom Vodacom Business Vodafone Vuyani Jarana
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleFears grow of a recession
    Next Article Vodacom sets out aggressive FTTH plans

    Related Posts

    Consortium makes unsolicited bid for state’s 40% stake in Telkom

    12 August 2022

    Actually, solar users should pay more to access the grid – here’s why

    12 August 2022

    Fixing SA’s power crisis is not complex: it simply takes the will to do better

    12 August 2022
    Add A Comment

    Comments are closed.

    Promoted

    Get your brand in front of TechCentral’s amazing audience

    12 August 2022

    Pricing Beyond CMYK: printers answer the FAQs

    11 August 2022

    How secure is your cloud?

    10 August 2022
    Opinion

    No reason South Africa should have a shortage of electricity: Ramaphosa

    11 July 2022

    Ntshavheni’s bias against the private sector

    8 July 2022

    South Africa can no longer rely on Eskom alone

    4 July 2022

    Subscribe to Updates

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

    © 2009 - 2022 NewsCentral Media

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