How do you lose R8 billion in a single year and still survive? The figure is extraordinary, even in a country used to seeing massive amounts of money disappear. This time, it’s nothing to do with state capture or siphoning off cash for cronies. This is money lost by bad decisions, a lack of strategy, and lax performance accountability that have dogged Cell C since it launched 18 years ago.

The financial facts are well known, but worth repeating for the sheer wow factor: Cell C lost R8 billion for the year to May 31 2019, vastly surpassing a disastrous loss of R656 million the previous year. Liabilities of R23.2 billion outweigh assets of R18.3 billion, making it officially insolvent. It has reneged on debts, been slapped with a default status by ratings agency S &P, and decimated the share price of its 45% stakeholder, Blue Label.