The DA has asked Public Protector Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka to investigate Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie over allegations that he breached the Executive Ethics Code, ran a “jobs-for-pals” scheme and misappropriated nearly R110 million in public funds.
The party also wants the watchdog to look into McKenzie’s handling of controversial FIFA World Cup spending, saying the minister may have violated his oath of office by benefitting his inner circle and the Patriotic Alliance.
In its complaint, the DA says a pattern has emerged during McKenzie’s time in office. According to the party, the minister has controlled the criteria for appointing PA members and political associates, channelled public money towards them, and then avoided Parliament when asked to account for the spending.
DA spokesperson on Sport, Arts and Culture Leah Potgieter said the allegations centre on the 2025/26 Mzansi Golden Economy adjudication panel, which was made up of six members and was responsible for distributing nearly R110 million in grants to artists, festivals and cultural organisations.
The party said the panel included PA spokesperson Steve Motale, as well as Vernon Vraagom and Francisco Tejada, who were identified as active party members at the time.
This complaint follows the DA’s accusation that McKenzie has dodged the Portfolio Committee and failed to appear in Parliament to answer questions about the administration of the millions allocated through the MGE programme.
The Patriotic Alliance has dismissed the complaint as baseless. In response, the party called it “nothing but a headline-seeking stunt with zero evidence”.
Motale said McKenzie has already answered every question put to him in Parliament on the matter. He also said the minister has responded publicly through official statements and media interviews.
“He has never had anything to hide, and he has never ducked a debate, committee appearance, or follow-up question,” said Motale.
He added that McKenzie has previously been cleared in every Public Protector complaint and every referral to Parliament’s Ethics Committee made against him, and argued there is no reason to expect a different result now.
Motale also said the PA is preparing its own complaint to the Public Protector against the DA, linked to the Resolve Communications matter involving former DA leader Tony Leon.
The Office of the Public Protector had not confirmed receipt of the DA’s complaint by the time of publication.
The DA has already lodged one earlier complaint against McKenzie this year. That case followed his decision to withdraw South Africa’s submission to the 61st Venice Biennale. The party argued that an independent and lawful institutional selection process had already been completed before the minister intervened and cancelled the artwork, a piece by Gabriel Goliath that referenced the deaths of women and children in Gaza.
In its latest statement, issued shortly after filing the complaint yesterday, Potgieter said McKenzie’s own deputy minister and the department’s director general had confirmed that he personally set the requirements for the panel and made the appointments.
“This means that the minister determined the rules, selected the panel and appointed active members of his own political party to decide how nearly R110m would be distributed. To this day, there is no full account of where this R110m went,” she said.
“The R110m fund was established on paper to create opportunities for artists and grow the creative economy, but appears to have created opportunities for the Patriotic Alliance, allegedly,” Potgieter added.
The second complaint concerns what the DA describes as excessive spending on the FIFA World Cup, including R31 million linked to the event and R7.9 million for official travel in Mexico and the United States.
Potgieter said the amount spent on just 18 people travelling on one trip was highly suspicious. She added that the minister’s personal travel costs alone were said to total more than R1 million.
“The minister’s personal travel costs alone amounted to more than R1m for the Fifa World Cup. This must be investigated. While Gayton McKenzie spent R31m on going to the World Cup, South African sporting federations are struggling to survive,” she said.
The DA says the Public Protector should investigate possible maladministration, abuse of power, improper conduct and any unjustifiable delay connected to public administration. The party also wants the office to examine whether anyone may have been improperly enriched, or received an unfair advantage, as a result of actions taken in public office.
The complaint sets up another political confrontation around McKenzie, whose tenure has already drawn repeated scrutiny from the DA over appointments, spending and the use of public resources. The Public Protector’s response will now determine whether the matter moves to a full investigation.
