Some rather unkind things have been said over the past week about the shifting ethical mooring of Patrice Motsepe, SA’s third-richest man, occasioned by his embarrassing fealty to America’s king, Donald Trump.
The offending act happened last week during a dinner at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Motsepe, who was two seats away from Trump, stood up and gushed how "Africa loves America, Africa loves you".
He shouldn’t mind the critics. As the spokesperson for Africa by virtue of being exceedingly wealthy, Motsepe was of course entitled to speak on behalf of the continent, and overrule the Pew Research finding that just 42% of South Africans have confidence that Trump will "do the right thing regarding world affairs". (SA’s level of confidence in Trump was, interestingly, higher than the global average of 31% — a trust level which was at 74% for Barack Obama in 2016.)
The US right-wing lapped up Motsepe’s comments. Race-baiting troll Rush Limbaugh blasted across his website: "African CEO praises Trump and America." How can this president be racist if an African CEO is crushing on him so obviously, Limbaugh implied.
Motsepe has much in common with Trump — though, by contrast, he has never driven a business to bankruptcy. At last count, he was the 1,032st-richest person on the planet, with a fortune estimated by Forbes at $2.5bn. This put him third in SA behind Johann Rupert (313th, with $6.5bn) and Nicky Oppenheimer (241st, with $7.7bn).
Some have defended Motsepe, arguing that it was just a benign act of cynical opportunism. Cosying up to the world’s most powerful man makes business sense — especially if that man is also the most vindictive. Pandering to a narcissist’s ego is the smart play.
Let’s hope it’s that, rather than an affinity for Trump’s values. After all, this is a man whose statements have been analysed by PolitiFact, the Poynter Institute’s fact checker, which found 21% to be "mostly false", 35% "false" and 15% "pants on fire" lies.
And that’s before, you know, Trump’s impeachment. As a New Yorker he did whatever he could to keep people of colour out of his buildings in Brooklyn and Queens.
So let’s hope it’s just Trump’s financial muscle which has Motsepe all giddy, rather than the habitual lying, corruption or abuse of power.
This week Motsepe apologised for what he had said, conceding that "I do not have the right to speak on behalf of anybody except myself". The way he explained it, the remarks were "aimed at encouraging discussions", since some US leaders felt that SA is "anti-America and its political leadership". This implies it was an ill-conceived strategic statement, rather than something he truly felt.
And yet Motsepe has previously made similarly backbone-optional statements to appease a political presence. More than a decade ago, when tensions over nationalisation were running high, Motsepe, as the largest black mine owner, was asked by SABC radio to elaborate on his thoughts on nationalisation. His reply: "If nationalisation is what is in the best interests of SA, I’ll support it, whether it’s nationalisation, or whether it’s socialism." It was a comment rich with all the lucidity of Carl Niehaus.
Back then, ANC Youth League spokesperson Floyd Shivambu said it "welcomes and appreciate[s] the support for nationalisation from Patrice Motsepe". That should have been a warning sign. A month later, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA demanded that Motsepe’s wealth itself be nationalised.
Let’s hope his support for Trump doesn’t provoke the EFF into calling for Motsepe’s impeachment.
Back in 2010, Motsepe’s sapless view on nationalisation infuriated African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) shareholders. One, Anglorand’s Louis Venter, was so irked by Motsepe’s rambling 12-minute explanation that he said: "I’m taking my money away and putting it in BHP Billiton and Anglo American."
By 2011, however, Motsepe had got the message. In that year’s ARM results presentation, he was clear: nationalisation will be "so much worse" than anything else. "Discussions about job creation, how we help the poor, how we increase and improve people’s standards of living — those discussions will be insignificant in comparison with the challenges we will confront at the end if mines are nationalised," he said. The track record of nationalisation, he pointed out, "is very poor".
Motsepe’s initial instinct, it seems, was to subjugate his judgement to whatever was politically convenient. Perhaps when he worked as a partner at law firm Bowman Gilfillan this skill served him well with clients. But as a role model to millions who crave real ethical leadership, it’s a far less impressive characteristic.