The Constitutional Court has ruled that the Competition Commission is entitled to investigate to determine whether the agreement between the SABC and MultiChoice brokered by the public broadcaster’s then COO, Hlaudi Motsoeneng in 2013, is valid.
In a unanimous judgment, the court has ordered that the commission investigate whether the deal gave rise to a notifiable merger.
The channel licencing deal gave MultiChoice the right to air two of the SABCs channels. Justice Edwin Cameron handed down the judgment.
“The following order is made: 1. Leave to appeal is granted. 2. The appeal is upheld and the Competition Appeal Court’s order of 28 April 2017 is set aside. The Commission is directed to file its report with the tribunal as contemplated in the June 2016 order within 30 days of this order. The first and second respondents are ordered jointly to pay the costs of the application including the costs of two counsel. 3. The appeal against the order of the CAC dismissing the application for new evidence is dismissed with no order as to cost. The Competition Commission’s application to adduce new evidence on appeal is likewise dismissed with no order as to costs,” he said.
