Zelt Marais’ 10-year ban upheld as WPRFU seek new president to save sinking union

Dewaldt Duvenage of WP during the Carling Currie Cup, Premier Division match between DHL Western Province and Hollywoodbets Sharks at DHL Stadium on August 24, 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images)

By Craig Ray

30 Apr 2025

Approximately 100 clubs that make up the general council of the Western Province Rugby Football Union will vote for new leadership on Wednesday night, after nearly four years in administration.

Zelt Marais, the inept former president of the Western Province Rugby Football Union (WPRFU), won’t be eligible to stand for re-election when clubs vote for new leadership on 30 April 2025.

Marais, who was president when the WPRFU was placed under administration by the South African Rugby Union (Saru) in October 2021 after a series of catastrophic decisions brought it to the brink of bankruptcy, was attempting to reclaim his position.

The WPRFU’s clubs (approximately 1oo of them) will vote for a new president at the Cape Town Stadium on Wednesday evening.

Marais’ name appeared on the provisional ballot for the position of president along with Kevin Kiewitz, Ronald Bantom and Reuben Machelm.

But on Tuesday, a 10-year ban from all forms of administration in the sport against Marais was upheld by an independent appeal panel. Marais cannot legally stand for any positions.

Marais and his enablers left the WPRFU saddled with hundreds of millions of rand in debt, yet he continued to act as a victim after being removed from his position.

“Mr Marais was suspended for 10 years from any and all positions in Saru or any other rugby body, and from any and all rugby activities for breaching the Saru code of conduct,” read a statement from Saru issued on Tuesday night.

“He had been charged with misconduct following various statements made in communications to South African Rugby members and in public forums in 2022 and 2024.

“The Independent Appeal Panel’s 61-page finding held that the sanction imposed by the judicial officer was ‘well motivated, among other things for the gravity of the charges, the fact that the acts of misconduct were ongoing, by a very senior office bearer of a member union who was well aware of his duties and responsibilities towards Saru’.

“The Panel said it and the judicial officer had taken into account ‘the total lack of remorse on the part of the appellant (Marais)’, which continued right up to the appeal, his ongoing justification for his actions and in effect still claiming that he was fully entitled to say what he had said on the basis that that what had been stated was ‘the truth’.

“There had been no apology for his conduct, and in particular, no public apology for his public remarks. There was an ongoing lack of remorse and every possibility that he would continue along this path unless sanctioned in the manner in which the judicial officer decided to sanction his conduct.”

Marais is ineligible to hold any position in rugby until 2034.

Problems

In addition to running for president, Marais’s name was also on the ballot for vice-president, deputy president and for the executive committee, underlying his desperation to be relevant.

The remaining three candidates for president — Bantom, Machelm and Kiewitz — were all part of the previous leadership at various stages.

It’s a situation that doesn’t indicate that the WPRFU are really moving forwards after nearly four years in administration.

At least Kiewitz, who is a lawyer by profession, resigned from the executive committee in protest over Marais’ actions, when he and his enablers withdrew from an agreed deal with Investec Property for the sale of Newlands’ development rights in June 2020.

Newlands Rugby Stadium. (Photo: Western Province Rugby)

Kiewitz showed commendable backbone and integrity as Marais rushed into an alternative deal with a little-known property developer named Flyt.

Marais sold the plan to the WPRFU General Council on the basis that the WPRFU would receive an immediate R112-million loan from Dream World Investments (Flyt’s parent company) to cover its existing debts to Remgro and Investec Bank.

Dream World paid R52.97-million to Investec Bank on 21 August 2020 and, on the same day, paid R57.76-million to Remgro to clear the WPRFU’s debts.

As security for the loan, 11 properties owned by the WPRFU were registered with Dream World.

The WPRFU and Flyt became 50% partners in a new company set up with Flyt to redevelop Newlands and Brookside. Even though the WPRFU is not a property developer, it somehow believed this was a better arrangement.

The Flyt deal turned sour six months later over a dispute over the agreed valuation of Newlands, which Marais tried to alter.

Read more: Flyt to fight Western Province Rugby Football Union after deal dispute

According to subsequent court papers lodged by Dream World at the Western Cape Division of the High Court in March 2021, the WPRFU “acknowledged that it was indebted to Dream World in the sum of R250-million”.

Understandably, Dream World wasn’t having it when the terms were in dispute, and sued the WPRFU for damages and for the repayment of the R112-million loan plus interest and costs.

That lawsuit was averted when Saru exercised its rights and put the WPRFU under administration, removing Marais from power.

But other debts are being called in.

Challenges ahead

Despite being released from administration from 1 May, the problems and financial crisis at the WPRFU will not vanish with the election of a new president and executive.

The debt to Dreamworld has risen to R250-million and the only way to pay it back is to sell Newlands to a property developer.

Under Saru’s administration, the administrator was tasked to continue with the union’s process to conclude a private equity deal for the union, complete the move to the Cape Town Stadium and manage the sale of Newlands and other owned properties.

Two of those three tasks were completed.

The Red Disa consortium paid R150-million for the Stormers in September 2023. Essentially the professional team has been removed from under the umbrella of the WPRFU.

The second task of moving to the Cape Town Stadium under favourable terms has been done.

That only leaves the sale of Newlands, which Saru believes can be completed by a newly elected WPRFU executive committee. Current administrator Peter Jooste confirmed that there was an interested buyer if suspensive conditions could be overcome.

It will also depend heavily on a new WPRFU president and executive doing the right thing and not letting petty politics get in the way of a potential sale, as it has done in the past.

Also, despite the possibility of Newlands being sold, Dream World is pursuing legal action against the WPRFU.

“We’ve given Western Province as much time as we possibly could to sell the properties, which is ultimately the only way to really settle the debt,” Dream World’s property director Riaan Munnik told Daily Maverick in March.

“The layman’s term that we use is we’re calling up the bonds, and that entails a litigation process.

“In other words, we can take the properties and put them on auction to get our money back.

“This wasn’t our first choice. We have actually paused the litigation process before, so as not to put undue pressure on Western Province and

Saru since the union was under administration.

“And we felt positive that the regime appointed to handle the administration of the Union were going to fix things. But I think the challenges of selling those properties, especially Newlands, have been underestimated.

“And, unfortunately, the team that led the administration for Western Province couldn’t sell the properties either. It leaves us with no choice as a business.”

Munnik confirmed to Daily Maverick that the litigation process remains ongoing.

Whatever the outcome of the election, the new leadership of the WPRFU has much work to do in the coming months to save the union. DM

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Problems

Challenges ahead