Patrice Motsepe has publicly distanced himself from a campaign positioning him as the next president of the ANC, telling African Rainbow Minerals shareholders the speculation was politically motivated.
Speaking at ARM’s results presentation on Friday, Motsepe addressed the PM27 campaign, a recently launched campaign and website seeking to build support for the mining billionaire as a successor to President Cyril Ramaphosa ahead of the ANC’s 2027 leadership conference.
“PM27 could also mean post meridian,” Motsepe said.
The campaign has rattled the ruling party, with the ANC’s national executive committee issuing a thinly veiled rebuke last week, condemning what it called divisive parallel leadership campaigns, without naming Motsepe directly.
Motsepe, whose Motsepe Family Foundation has funded the education of more than 5,000 students, has long cultivated influence through philanthropy and corporate citizenship rather than party structures.
He is regarded by some ANC insiders as a potential unity candidate as an alternative to declared contenders including Deputy President Paul Mashatile and ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula.
“I’m too old and boring to be forming political parties,” Motsepe told shareholders, brushing aside suggestions he would enter electoral politics. He added that his position at ARM is a meaningful contribution to South Africa best made from outside the political arena.
“The minute you run for votes, you divide the broader objective, the broader benefit for all South Africans.”
Motsepe also pushed back against suggestions he had broken party rules by launching the pm27.org.za website, from which he also distanced himself.
“I always follow the rules and my integrity is very, very important,” he said, suggesting that those circulating the campaign were acting out of political self-interest and attempting to neutralise him before he could become a threat to their own political ambitions within the party.
The PM27 website, which describes Motsepe as a unifying and visionary leader, emerged last week and quickly drew attention given its professional presentation and timing. Motsepe denied any involvement, calling the content false and unfounded and suggesting rivals had manufactured the campaign to embarrass him with the ANC’s leadership structures.
ARM, the Johannesburg-listed diversified miner Motsepe founded, reported solid results at the meeting. He urged shareholders to focus on the company’s performance rather than political headlines, reaffirming the family’s long-term commitment to the business.
“The results are good, and the results will get better,” he said.
Under ARM, Motsepe has also been recorded as a donor to multiple political parties since the introduction of South Africa’s Political Party Funding Act in 2021. Disclosure reports published by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) show contributions linked to ARM to both the ANC and the DA.
Motsepe recently relinquished his position as executive chair of ARM to become non-executive chair.
Business Day
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