Patrice Motsepe may not have been there to sign off on the decision, but Nafhold has finally agreed on a way to distribute its shares to members.
Motsepe skipped the meeting that made the decision, in a move seen by some insiders as a sign he is still unhappy with the share allocation.
The move nevertheless is seen as the beginning of the end of a long-standing dispute over the investment holdings company of the National African Federated Chambers of Commerce (Nafcoc).
The allocation of Nafhold shares was one of the central issues in the recent spat between Motsepe, who is Nafcoc president, and general secretary Buhle Mthethwa.
Mthethwa claimed that Motsepe planned to ensure that the shares, estimated to be worth R650-million, were handed out in a way that favoured his own associates.
At the height of their spat, Mthethwa also frequently pointed out that Nafcoc has failed to address the question of entry into black townships by big retailers to the detriment of small, black retailers.
The decision to allocate the shares was taken at a Nafhold meeting last Friday, ahead of Nafcoc’s 40th anniversary celebrations at Sun City last weekend.
The Mail & Guardian has learned that although there was a quorum at the meeting it did not include Motsepe and his deputy Cyprian Lekuma.
One source suggested that this was because of Motsepe’s dissatisfaction with the method of allocation.
It is unlikely, though, that Motsepe will openly contest the allocation as he is seen as anxious to maintain the moral high ground after the diplomatic manner in which he handled his dispute with Mthethwa, his resounding re-election victory and the unified, determined mood he created after the anniversary celebrations.
Shares will be assigned to provinces and sectoral members, subject to a range of conditions. Chief among these is that Nafhold Share Trust (NST) retain 10% of the shareholding to allow it to continue operating.
The NST trustees must also allow some shares to be allocated to the Nafcoc federal council, its executive, the trustees and directors of Nafhold.
A portion of the equity will also be set aside for stalwarts of the black business chamber.
These include found- ing president Sam Motsuenyane, business icons Richard Maponya and Archie Nkonyeni, past executives of the council and what are des- cribed as “unrecognised contributors”.
As a result of the allocation members will gain indirect interests in numerous gaming and leisure companies.
Nafhold has a 10% stake in National Lottery operator Uthingo, as well as portions of Tsogo Sun — the owner of Montecasino — and e.tv holding company Miditv.
Motsepe used the end of the anniversary celebrations to call for renewed determination for Nafcoc to serve its members, admitting that the previous executive had failed in this regard.
At the onset of his two-year term, Motsepe had vowed not to stand for re-election, but three weeks ago he did an about turn and won.
At the celebrations delegates were also told by the organisation’s founding father, Motsuenyane, that debate had died within Nafcoc and had been replaced with futile power struggles.
Delegates were also told by Minister of Trade and Industry Mandisi Mpahlwa that a serious constraint to economic growth was that blacks were not contributing sufficiently “to the entrepreneurial base”.
Mpahlwa cited the four areas of growth as: being a supplier to a big company, a supplier to the government and parastatals, a supplier taking advantage of consumer demand and a supplier to new international markets, especially in Africa.
Additional reporting by I-Net Bridge