SABC News presenter Chante Jantjies address rumours she is the owner of Mara Phones
SABC News presenter Chante Jantjies address rumours she is the owner of Mara Phones
BROADCASTER Chante Jantjies has slammed claims that she’s the founder and owner of Mara Phones.
A statement by her lawyers says: “We wish to place on record that our client is not the owner or the founder of Mara Phones.”
Explaining her deal with the phone brand, according to the statement, Chante who used to be an SABC news anchor, independently bought and invested in a small franchise owned by Mara Phones two years ago.
At the time, she posted: “I’m proud to share the opening of my first Mara experience store in South Africa at Maponya Mall. Bringing you a proudly South African made phone Rocket. Thank you for all the support.”
The statement also revealed Chante has not received any returns from her investment and cleared the air that she was neither connected nor involved in the day-to-day operations of the smartphone brand, nor did she own a share in the company.
“Our client has not received any monies from Mara Phones or Mara Phones founders,” it said.
BROADCASTER Chante Jantjies has slammed claims that she’s the founder and owner of Mara Phones.
A statement by her lawyers says: “We wish to place on record that our client is not the owner or the founder of Mara Phones.”
Explaining her deal with the phone brand, according to the statement, Chante who used to be an SABC news anchor, independently bought and invested in a small franchise owned by Mara Phones two years ago.
At the time, she posted: “I’m proud to share the opening of my first Mara experience store in South Africa at Maponya Mall. Bringing you a proudly South African made phone Rocket. Thank you for all the support.”
The statement also revealed Chante has not received any returns from her investment and cleared the air that she was neither connected nor involved in the day-to-day operations of the smartphone brand, nor did she own a share in the company.
“Our client has not received any monies from Mara Phones or Mara Phones founders,” it said.
— Chanté Siyamthanda Jantjies (@ChanteJantjies_) February 9, 2022
This comes after reports that the brand, which became the first ever smartphone produced in Mzansi and was widely celebrated, has gone bankrupt and its factory is now standing empty and up for auction.
According to the auction documents, the sale includes the manufacturing and assembly plant, equipment, and components for smartphones, plus already completed phones in storage.
Mara Phones Global CEO Chris Corsi confirmed the auction of the factory and said Covid-19 affected their business in Mzansi, like any other country in the world.
“Unfortunately, the lack of uptake in the South African domestic market coupled with a shortfall in tender materialisation and lockdowns has prompted this course of action,” he said.
The company’s assembly plant in Inanda outside Durban was opened by President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2019, using half of R1,5 billion in funding from Standard Bank and the Industrial Development Corporation.
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