Altech Group's CEO Applauds Judiciary | Altron. There When It Matters

Craig Venter, Altech Group CEO, has reiterated his confidence in the judiciary following the Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africas dismissal, with costs, of the recent application of both the Competition Commission of South Africa and Tracetec (Pty) Ltd against Altech Netstar.
According to Venter, South Africa is the envy of much of the world when one looks at its justice system, its constitutional democracy, and the separation of powers between Parliament, the Executive and the Judiciary.
We often forget how lucky we are to live in a constitutional democracy like South Africa. Our judiciary has, on more than one occasion, demonstrated outstanding jurisprudence in matters involving both business and civil society and the rights of the consumer, he said.
If one looks at a few of the high profile business cases that have been brought before the courts, such as the recently announced large international retail merger, the manner in which our legal system has handled these cases declares unambiguously to the international community that South Africa respects the rule of law and is open for business, he added
As was the case with Altech Netstar, Altech was vindicated in its support of consumer rights when the Competition Commission took Altech Netstar to court because it was of the opinion that it was restricting access to the Stolen Vehicle Recovery market since Altech Netstar, with others, had established criteria and standards for membership of the Vehicle Security Association of South Africa (VESA).
The performance standards adopted by VESA and applied by insurance companies ensured that consumers were protected against ˜fly-by-night operators in the vehicle tracking and recovery industry. Those standards ensured that operators could not deceive consumers into believing that they were capable of effectively tracking and recovering stolen vehicles. The favourable ruling of the Supreme Court of Appeal vindicated our belief that justice and the rights of consumers would prevail, said Venter.
This protection of rights was equally illustrated in October 2008 when the Pretoria High Court ruled that Altech could convert its Value Added Network Services (VANS) licence into an Individual Electronic Communications Network Service (I-ECNS) licence in order for it to develop and operate its own telecommunications network.
That ruling was a victory not only for Altech but the entire South African telecommunications industry as it liberalised the industry by enabling qualifying VANS licence holders to self-provide telecommunication services to South African consumers and businesses alikethereby reducing telecommunications costs and opening up the market to a myriad of new services and products, concluded Venter.
ENDS

Notes to Editors:
About Allied Technologies Limited
Allied Technologies Limited (Altech) is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). The company focuses on the Telecommunications, Multi-media and Information Technology (TMT) industries with a global footprint in 14 countries and employs more than 4 000 employees.
As a leading South African multi-billion rand group, Altech is involved in the design, development and convergence of Telecommunications, Multi-media systems and IT solutions.
For further information please contact:
Craig Venter
Chief Executive Officer: Altech
Tel: +27 11 715 9004
Cell: +27 83 236 8000
E-mail: cventer@altech.co.za
and/or
Shenanda Janse van Rensburg
Group Executive: Marketing, PR & Communications – Altech Head Office
Tel: +27 11 715 9031
Mobile: +27 84 777 1977
Email: sjvrensburg@altech.co.za
www.altech.com
JSE code: ALT