May 7 – Patrice Motsepe, president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), a leader not noted for his good governance or for putting the game before political expediency, has come under bitter attack in his home country over his business activities.
Motsepe’s African Rainbow Capital (ARC) has caught the full force of the World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) over a brazen attempt to mine inside one of South Africa’s most ecologically sensitive national parks.
The WWF accusations hint at government corruption and state corruption to grant Motsepe what he wants, but the environmentalists aren’t backing down in the face of Motsepe’s government influence and supposed financial resource.
The Kropz phosphate mine, which is 83.2% owned by Motsepe’s ARC, won a licence in 2015 to mine South Africa’s second-largest phosphate deposit on the edge of the West Coast National Park. The park includes the Langebaan Lagoon, one of 28 wetlands in South Africa designated of “international importance” under the Ramsar Convention of 1975.
Kropz has applied to have a section of phosphate-bearing land “alienated” from the West Coast National Park and handed over to it to mine.
WWF trustee Mark Read said: “The fate of vast areas of as-yet unspoilt wilderness hangs in the balance should this despicable and profoundly cynical application be successful.”
If Motsepe is allowed to mine the National Park then the precedent it sets could be disastrous for the environment as it opens the door to mining other parks.
So why do it? Ultimately it comes down to a thirst for money – ironically something that Motsepe has repeatedly promised to his CAF stakeholders but never delivered.
In the case of the Kropz mine, Motsepe appears to be mirroring his CAF track record of destruction of the eco-system that supported the game across the continent.
By 2019 ARC had dropped R1.5 billion in Kropz but has been unable to stem losses. For the six months ended September 2024, the mine recorded sales of $14.1 million, and a loss of $21.4 million. Last year, Motsepe ploughed R602 million ($33 million) into the mine.
“To go after a deposit inside a declared national park is preposterous and to even contemplate mining in such a situation is what I call eating the future,” said WWF CEO Morné du Plessis. “You’re hungry today and you’ll take the last fish out of the dam, but what about tomorrow?”
CAF’s member federations would tell you that under Motsepe’s FIFA-instructed leadership promises of a bright new tomorrow have been false and you don’t quickly replace what you once had.
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