Patrice Motsepe is no silver bullet to leadership challenges

The vigorous lobbying for Patrice Motsepe to raise his hand and refuse to obey Mbalula's "Ntate Motsepe dula fase" call might not be beneficial for South Africa. There was a time when the ANC released several of its leaders to join the private sector. This was driven by a need to extend its influence within the economic establishment. Among its leading figures who made it into the C-Suite and ultimately private capital decision centres, Patrice Motsepe stands out as a proud, loyal, and disciplined member of the ANC. 

As part of a post-1996 adopted constitutional democracy business collective, the group of black millionaires and billionaires who have earned their reputation ethically, such as Patrice Motsepe, carved for themselves, and hopefully the nation, strategic roles that are shaping history and posterity. Besides being the voice within the political and social establishment firmly controlled by the ANC-as-liberation movement, these business leaders are a vital voice in the proverbial market of South Africa. They embody the context of a country still finding its footing in a history where authentic black voices have often been met with hostility and exclusion. 

In one sense, their presence offers particular moralistic strength as a model to ignite social cohesion within the nests of right-wing economic thinking. It is no secret that apartheid, a crime against humanity, benefited racial capitalism through the cheap labour system. Black business leadership thus has an obligation to serve as the moral compass to ensure that the offspring of apartheid capitalism learn the humanity of all South Africans. Capitalism with an African conscience, so to speak.

The growing stability in the private sector, the ease with which the trust deficit is bottoming out, and the growing confidence of the ANC in the private sector are all benefits of a settling black business class. The dividend of having Patrice-likes is that they stay the business course, remaining the core of what it is to be South African big business, which has historically been reflected in a total lack of consciousness of citizens' rights and responsibilities. 

The temptation to be the South African president, which is spiralling into a mistaken analysis of the type, form, character, and content of the political leadership the country wants, might have negative consequences if business leaders are diverted into political leadership. Unlike in the Ramaphosa case, where he applied his leadership traits in the union movement, Patrice Motsepe's detour will disrupt the strategic consolidation of the non-racialisation of the RSA business sector. Building economic justice requires that a significant equity of the economy is in black hands, and those who have succeeded should be left to continue.  

The idea of having Patrice Motsepe as the candidate for ANC president, and by default the ANC's candidate for president of RSA, should be revisited insofar as it requires him as a person to be in the race. What is plausible about the idea is ANC members' willingness to look beyond their current leadership for leadership. Recognition that the leadership solution might lie outside the traditional confines of the ANC is what makes the idea of a Patrice Motsepe-type viable.  

Beyond the requirement that you can only contest on a political party list, the rise of independents might offer South Africans the option to vote for a branded individual. To emerge with a President that is elected through a collective public representative vote might be an apex manifestation of a true 'the people shall govern' democratic order. 

Given that there's no experience with a president of RSA not from the majority party, it could be an option whose positive outcome could prevail. As things stand, South Africa is gradually narrowing its options for leadership among political parties, rather than aligning with what it needs as its leadership. While the outcomes of the 2016 and 2021 municipal elections and the 2024 National and Provincial elections created a different democratic context, it does not appear that the implications have been sufficiently absorbed by South African voters. 

The path towards the 2029 National and Provincial elections is about more than just who becomes South Africa's president. It is about whether South Africa can produce a leader who meets its leadership requirements, given its phase of development. The democratic order, with a liberation promise entrenched in its constitutional order, might be trapped between recurring post-liberation nostalgia and cycles of ideological contestation, with race and class as dominant vectors. Yet there might be a path the voter could instruct, along which the country can turn a new leaf and write a new leadership story. 

The post-May 2024 government of national unity, arguably a transition to a post-liberation sobriety moment for South African leaders, has, through the demand for new leadership from outside, elevated an opportunity to reset the criteria for leadership. Thankfully for the country, almost all political parties are in a leadership crisis, both in terms of who to select and the quality of available talent. The path can be easier and more rewarding than treating Patrice Motsepe as a leadership silver bullet, he is at best an option.