One must remember that in an organization the size of Vodacom there are a LOT of moving parts, and a CEO, at least one who wishes to keep his job for any length of time, is beholden to the requirements of shareholders, board members, and various business stakeholders.
At the end of the day, his role was to produce maximal output for shareholders with minimal input. Any opportunity to ensure that margins were high and therefore profitability as well was the order of the day, that would include keeping competition small, lobbying for legislation that may be beneficial to ones self, and so on.
His role has now changed, he has likely been mandated to grow Cell-C into a viable competitor to MTN and Vodacom (since it's the smaller of all 3) and his only way of really doing that - since cost is a big defining factor - is to reduce costs and position himself (and his company) as the champion of the consumer. He knows that Vodacom is big and slow, and will react as it always has, an ineffective strategy.
Let us not blame one person for the failings of an entire organization.
At the end of the day, his role was to produce maximal output for shareholders with minimal input. Any opportunity to ensure that margins were high and therefore profitability as well was the order of the day, that would include keeping competition small, lobbying for legislation that may be beneficial to ones self, and so on.
His role has now changed, he has likely been mandated to grow Cell-C into a viable competitor to MTN and Vodacom (since it's the smaller of all 3) and his only way of really doing that - since cost is a big defining factor - is to reduce costs and position himself (and his company) as the champion of the consumer. He knows that Vodacom is big and slow, and will react as it always has, an ineffective strategy.
Let us not blame one person for the failings of an entire organization.
