All the details from the Vodacom/Maziv merger Competition Appeals Court hearing where R12bn in promises nearly caused a fender-bender.

All the details from the Vodacom/Maziv merger Competition Appeals Court hearing where R12bn in promises nearly caused a fender-bender.

When senior counsel representing the Competition Commission, advocate Daniel Berger, said, "My lord, as an officer of the court, I am duty bound to commit this statement to the public record," I nearly drove my car off the road in shock.

I was on my way from collecting my kids from school to drop my son off at his football practice, and things were getting spicy in the post-lunch session of Competition Appeals Court (CAC) proceedings. But how did we get here?

The devil in the details

Earlier this month, I reported on the Competition Commission's dramatic about-turn on the Vodacom/Maziv merger - how they went from fierce opposition to sudden support after the parties agreed to "revised conditions". Now, sitting in back-to-school traffic with a Teams call crackling through my car speakers, I got the full story of exactly what those conditions entail.

And frankly, it's either the most comprehensive set of telecoms concessions in South African history, or the most elaborate corporate sleight of hand.

The headline number that had everyone's attention was always going to be the money....