Premium: Pretoria FM David v Goliath victory exposes disgusting SA-style ‘capitalism’

Spent a fruitful half hour this morning watching colleague Michael Appel's excellent interview (click on image above) with Willie Spies, executive chairman of community radio station Pretoria FM. Spies, a talented storyteller, provides a rivetting tale of this David v Goliath clash.

For two decades, he explains, the plucky community station has been fighting court battles to provide Afrikaners with an alternative to the national broadcaster's RSG. Spies, a lawyer, deserves huge credit for his perseverance. Pretoria FM's finally won the battle earlier this month.

The story also exposes a cancer of SA-style 'capitalism' introduced after the ANC acquired political power in 1994. Radio licencing became one of the more obvious ways to reward loyal cadres. By restricting commercial radio licences, it created legislated monopolies with the highest profitability on earth (over 50% Ebitda margins).

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