SAPO mum on R1bn lawsuit

By Siyabonga Africa, ITWeb junior journalist

Johannesburg, 22 Oct 2008

The South African Post Office (SAPO) is taking legal counsel on how to defend against a R1 billion lawsuit pending against it.

Nasasa Mobile, a joint venture between the National Stokvel Association of SA and Glocell, filed the lawsuit after the Post Office reneged on a distribution deal.

The deal between Nasasa Mobile and SAPO would have seen the post office giving Nasasa exclusive rights to sell cellphones and airtime through its 2 500 outlets.

SAPO spokesman Lungile Lose says the parastatal is consulting its lawyers as to the next course of action. Lose would not go into the details of the parastatal`s defence plans, claiming the matter is sub judice.

Former SAPO CEO Maanda Manyatshe signed the deal. Current SAPO CEO Motshoanetsi Lefoka cancelled the five-year deal before it could be implemented and Nasasa Mobile began legal proceedings to claim R1.3 billion worth of damages.

Legal woes grow

SAPO has also been caught in legal tangles with one of its former CEOs. Former SAPO CEO Khutso Mampeule`s allegations of corruption caused Manyatshe to resign as head of network operator MTN`s local operations. Manyatshe subsequently began proceedings to sue SAPO for more than R200 million in damages.

Mampeule`s allegations in 2006 led to criminal charges being brought against the then MTN MD Manyatshe. The charges stemmed from a Mail & Guardian interview with Mampeule.

Manyatshe failed in his court application to have the article suppressed before it was published.

The article detailed a deal, worth more R2 billion, to refurbish SAPO outlets countrywide, which Manyatshe allegedly had pushed through without a tender process. Judgment is pending in Manyatshe`s case.