The re-election of Patrice Motsepe as head of the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce (Nafcoc) for two more years means that the anti-Motsepe faction must find a leader willing to put his or her money where his or her mouth is.
While it has been public knowledge that the organisation is fractious and many of its leaders have been happy to tell the media about Motsepe’s shortcomings — so long as the briefings are off-the-record — few have had the courage of their convictions to vote the billionaire businessman out.
Some leaders drew adverse inferences from the fact that Motsepe had previously said that he was unavailable for the presidency, but had now made a U-turn.
Motsepe and his main adversary for the leadership of organised black business, Buhle Mthethwa, returned to their positions of president and secretary general unopposed. Mthethwa had earlier made it known that she intended to go for the presidency. Now, however, she says it had become irrelevant whether her decision not to contest the presidency had upset those who had backed her, and adds : ”I apologised to the president for all the negative statements I made in the media.”
Those who dislike Motsepe say he is dictatorial. This lobby also says that Motsepe uses his personal wealth and charm to portray himself as a hero of black business when, in truth, he is using the position to feather his own nest, which entails controlling Nafcoc’s holding company, Nafhold. Until this week, Mthethwa had herself expressed these sentiments.
Says an anti-Motsepe Nafcoc member: ”Nafhold is debt-free. By next year, it should be worth about R1,2-billion. You can do a lot with that kind of money.” Earlier this year Motsepe’s wealth was estimated to be between R3-billion and R4-billion.
”Patrice’s support comes from those guys who have nothing. Their businesses have been sequestrated and they are bankrupt. They see Patrice as a sign of hope that they could come back.”
But Mthethwa argues: ”The president has on numerous occasions over the past two years stated that the Nafhold shares should be available to thousands of Nafcoc members. He also emphasised that he would not participate or acquire any of the Nafhold shares as it was important for him not to be seen to be benefiting from Nafhold or any of the activities or empowerment transactions intended for or involving Nafcoc.”
It had been suggested in some quarters that President Thabo Mbeki ordered the two to bury the hatchet for the benefit of black business. Mbeki’s spokesperson Bheki Khumalo ”categorically and absolutely” denied that the president had had a hand in deciding who would lead Nafcoc.
”The government and the president would of course like to see a united Nafcoc fulfilling its historical role, but the president and the government do not influence the elections of office bearers of any organisation,” says Khumalo.
A Nafcoc council member told the Mail & Guardian why she supports Motsepe.
”If you run a pub or bar and you have a pretty girl who does not always do as she should, but keeps patrons coming because she is attractive, you don’t dismiss her.
”You monitor her better but keep her because she ensures that your business thrives. Yes, sometimes, she may give her boyfriends free booze, but that is why you need to monitor her.”
She adds: ”Patrice is moneyed. He has the ear of important people here and abroad; we will be fooling ourselves if we pretend we don’t need him.”