A worthy dedication

Writing a book with some of the best brains in the field of telecommunications research was both fulfilling and frustrating. Other than being capable researchers and writers, both Seth Mukwevho (of the Rand Merchant Bank) and Adrian Schofield (non-executive director of the Computer Society of SA (CSSA) are tenacious, resolute and independent thinkers, and thus on many occasions, we would be at each others' throats.

The contributions of both Ngcaba and Knott-Craig to the telecommunications industry went beyond their places of employment.

Rabelani Dagada is president of the Computer Society of SA.

I was the only dove in the team and would find myself mediating between the two hawks. Our very first debate was about the title of the book. Mukwevho felt strongly that the book should be entitled: “Telecommunications Revolution in a Developmental State: South Africa Becomes a Hub of Telecoms Initiatives”. However, Schofield argued that in the context of SA's failure to firmly grasp some of the telecommunications opportunities, he suggested the title should rather refer to: “South Africa - a Potential Phenomenon”, or: “South Africa's Phenomenal Potential”. After much debate, I came up with what I thought was a compromise title, which accommodates both positions: “Telecommunications Revolution in the Developmental State: South Africa Becomes a Phenomenon”.

The other issue that was extensively discussed was who the book should be dedicated to. Schofield and Mukwevho were quick to suggest Andile Ngcaba, executive chairman of Dimension Data (Middle East and Africa), and Alan Knott-Craig, former group CEO of Vodacom. My proposal to dedicate the book to a school or a rural multi-purpose community centre, which has excelled in promoting access to ICT by disadvantaged communities, did not engender any enthusiasm from my co-authors.

Their argument was that it would require some fieldwork to identify such a school or centre. We, therefore, had to reach agreement between Ngcaba and Knott-Craig. Both Schofield and Mukwevho were entrenched in their positions regarding their nominated candidate. I was, therefore, expected to cast the deciding vote. The irony of the whole discussion was that both nominees are friends, but at the same time, they themselves had been at odds on several occasions.

telephony. Countering this view, Knott-Craig predicted that cellphones would yield positive effects for all South Africans to a greater extent than television would. Years later, Ngcaba acknowledged the reality of Knott-Craig's vision.

Secondly, Ngcaba and Knott-Craig differed regarding the composition of the Vodacom shareholding. Ngcaba insisted the Vodacom shareholding should subscribe fully to black economic empowerment (BEE) principles, and while Knott-Craig agreed with Ngcaba in principle, he felt powerless to promote such a view as he, himself, was an employee and not a shareholder. However, Knott-Craig later conceded to Ngcaba's views, in the process jeopardising his position at Vodacom, as some shareholders were unhappy with the manner in which he had made a deal with Ngcaba and the then secretary-general of the African National Congress (ANC), Cyril Ramaphosa.

Thirdly, the two telecoms titans were equally matched in terms of public recognition. In 1991, both Ngcaba and Knott-Craig received the CSSA IT Personality of the Year Award, for outstanding leadership and visionary contribution to the ICT industry in SA. They have both received honorary doctoral degrees, the former from the University of Fort Hare and the latter from the University of SA. Before I could cast my deciding vote, I had to reflect on the achievements of these two telecoms giants.

The contributions of both Ngcaba and Knott-Craig to the telecommunications industry went beyond their places of employment. In fact, the impact of their contributions has had positive ramifications for the whole African continent and beyond. They were instrumental in bringing mobile telephony to SA and also growing the industry in the rest of Africa. Furthermore, Ngcaba served as a director-general of the Department of Communications (DOC) for over eight years, until 2003, under three successive ministers: Dr Pallo Jordan, Jay Naidoo, and the late Dr Ivy Matsepe-Casaburri. During his stay at the DOC, Ngcaba was instrumental in promoting progressive ICT policy formulation, and supervised essential developments in the ICT sector of SA. His diligence and level-headedness attracted the attention of foreign governments, which drew on his expertise and experience. On Ngcaba's watch, the DOC introduced a piece of legislation that was highly acclaimed internationally, the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (2002).

Unfortunately, most provisions of this Act were not implemented. While Ngcaba has been criticised for crafting policies that protected Telkom's monopoly, in his defence, he has argued that it is not fair for one person to be singled out, since policy formulation is a consultative process. Unfortunately, he has received little sympathy, and even colleagues in Dimension Data were critical of some of the policies he oversaw. The CEO of Dimension Data was quoted by the Sunday Times (25/01/2009) as saying the slow pace of telecommunications deregulation has left SA eight or 10 years behind the rest of the world, observing that the CEO of his Asian operation has more bandwidth in his house than any one of the South African banks. He felt that South African children are being left behind by their Asian counterparts, and this was a major concern. The CEO's view may not be entirely objective, and it is generally believed that Ngcaba has added enormous value in Dimension Data, overseeing strong growth into new markets in the Middle East and Africa.

Alan Knott-Craig had taken a salary cut and lost benefits by leaving Telkom to become the founding CEO of Vodacom. He was instrumental in convincing both policy formulators during the last days of the apartheid regime as well as the ANC that GSM digital technology was what SA and the rest of Africa should adopt. His judgment was proven right, because GSM is more efficient and easier to roll out than its counterpart - the C450 analogue system. GSM as standardised digital technology had forged ahead, connecting millions of previously underserviced communities. In 1993, Knott-Craig was in the forefront of negotiations with the ANC when it threatened to revoke the licences of mobile operators because of concerns about lack of representivity, and the potential negative impact for BEE.

After three weeks of discussion, it was agreed that a 5% shareholding of Vodacom would be set aside for BEE ventures. Most innovations in the field of mobile telephony are products of his strategic thinking, and are applied internationally.

Knott-Craig, the longest serving CEO in the telecoms industry in SA, has been highly criticised for being part of an industry that undermined the socio-economic development trajectory of the country through excessive costs. He has, however, vehemently defended himself by laying the blame at the door of the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA), the telecoms regulator. In an interview with Alec Hogg of SA FM (13/10/2009), Knott-Craig snapped: “I mean, in the last years that I spent at Vodacom, I think I budgeted every single year for ICASA to cut that interconnect, and they never did.” He retired from Vodacom in October 2009 and claims to be enjoying bird photography. Now that he has already written his telecoms memoir, entitled: Second is Nothing: Creating a multi-billion cellular industry, I suspect his next book will be on bird photography.

Although Knott-Craig is seen as a father and champion of mobile telephony in Africa, the industry does not seem to have made him rich. This is sad, considering his health was highly affected by work-related stress levels. However, his counterparts in the industry are reportedly billionaires, including Ngcaba (through the Elephant Consortium), MTN CEO Phuthuma Nhleko (R606 million), MTN Group finance director Rob Nisbet (R1.193 billion), non-executive director Irene Charnley (R1.134 billion), and MTN COO Sifiso Dabengwa (R1.133 billion).1 It seems MTN has been taking better care of its leadership for the past few years than the opposition, Vodacom, and one has a sense that Knott-Craig is bitter about this. He is quoted in Second is Nothing saying: “I was pleased that the entire staff complement received equity in the company, including myself. But there was a catch. In order to cash in on those shares, employees had to have worked for the company for five years from the time they were issued, and I was simply unlucky to have been leaving the company at the 'wrong' time. But it still felt odd to be saying goodbye as a salaried employee, not a shareholder, especially since I had, as much as anyone, actually shared - physically, mentally, and emotionally - in all the experiences, good and bad, that Vodacom had undergone. My settlement - the one stipulated in my contract - was what I was entitled to, no more, no less, which is how things were meant to be.”

This reflects poorly on Vodacom, in my view. It appears, however, that as recompense, Vodacom retained Knott-Craig as a consultant until 2011, with limited duties. Knott-Craig enjoys interacting with young people and students at universities, and now has time for this. I suppose he will teach them how not to focus on building a multibillion rand company and neglect their well-being. There are times when one has to be somewhat selfish, Dr Knott-Craig. He was appointed as the Cell C CEO in April this year and he has started to rattle the industry.

I found both Ngcaba and Knott-Craig eminently qualified to have the book dedicated to them. However, I am reluctant to choose Ngcaba, because we have been to each others' homes due to the fact that our wives are distantly related. We also attended each others' weddings some years ago. I should have asked Ngcaba how to keep one's marriage going, since mine has collapsed, while his continues to thrive! My best wishes, man.

Notwithstanding, I casted my vote for Knott-Craig to have the book dedicated to him. Of course, we are the ones who are honoured by dedicating our book to the father and champion of mobile telephony in Africa. Dr Knott-Craig, on behalf of the millions of Africans who use cellphones daily, I wish you a good career at Cell C and success with your bird photography.