Motsepe donates millions to develop his home town

Patrice Motsepe is one of those who is doing something to develop South Africa. His newly founded organisation, the Motsepe Foundation, aims to better the lives of our people, especially those in underdeveloped metros and district municipalities.

Since the beginning of August, Motsepe has donated money to a few municipal areas around Gauteng. Mmakau, his home village in the North West province, is among the villages that were fortunate enough to be the first recipients of these funds. The foundation donated R5m. “There is a lot of work to be done here. We will give them the R5m, but the foundation will have to explain what will happen to the money given to the community if it gets stolen,” said Motsepe.

Motsepe visited the community on 2 October and during his visit added that the organisation did not belong to the Motsepes or certain individuals. He added that it aimed at helping young people in particular. “The foundation belongs to everyone, particularly those who are disadvantaged,” he explained. Most of the donations will be given to students who wish to further their studies at traditional universities as bursaries.

The tribal leader of Bakgatla ba Mmakau, Baile Motsepe, said that what Patrice has done for his community does not surprise him, because he has always known Patrice as a humble person who had a great passion for development and education of the people. “We want everyone to benefit from this precious gift,” he added.

Motomoma Rampei, one of the recipients of the study grants, said: “I am overjoyed that a man of his calibre is giving back to the community. It has made him the person he is today. We wish him well in all his plans to uplift the Mmakau community.” David Mokwena, who was elected by the youth of Mmakau as the secretary of the Mmakau Committee, will represent the community in the Motsepe foundation. He said that they were looking forward to big improvements. “I feel honoured to be a part of the body that will be leading the foundation in Mmakau. We are looking forward to improving the lives of the Mmakau community by utilising all the funds from the foundation in a fair, open, and fruitful manner,” said Mokwena.

The Motsepe Foundation hopes to donate R200m to the disadvantaged and is currently busy with a national road show.