The Democratic Alliance has filed a complaint with the Public Protector against Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie, alleging violations of his oath of office and possible conflicts of interest.

The opposition party announced the complaint today, with DA sports spokesperson Leah Potgieter stating the investigation would examine whether McKenzie benefited his political associates and the Patriotic Alliance party.

The complaint centres on alleged breaches of the Executive Members’ Ethics Act and the Executive Ethics Code, including claims of maladministration, abuse of power and improper benefit.

PA members appointed to funding panel

The first complaint concerns McKenzie’s appointment of the 2025/26 Mzansi Golden Economy adjudication panel. Three of the six panel members – Steve Motale, Vernon Vraagom and Francisco Tejada – were identified as active PA members at the time of their appointment.

Motale also served as the PA’s national spokesperson, meaning half the panel responsible for allocating nearly R110 million in public funding consisted of members from the minister’s own political party.

McKenzie’s deputy minister and the department’s director general confirmed the minister personally set the requirements for the panel and made the appointments.

The DA claims this process stripped several major South African cultural festivals of their funding. The party states there is still no full account of where the R110 million was distributed.

R31 million World Cup expenditure under scrutiny

The second major complaint relates to nearly R31 million spent on the FIFA World Cup, including R7.9 million for official travel. The DA questions how 18 people travelling from South Africa to the Americas on one trip could cost this amount.

McKenzie’s personal travel costs alone exceeded R1 million for the World Cup trip.

The DA contrasts this spending with the financial struggles facing South African sporting federations, some of which have held fundraisers to purchase plane tickets for athletes.

Calls for transparency

Potgieter outlined what she described as a pattern in McKenzie’s administration of the department:

The minister controls the criteria, PA members and political associates are appointed, public money is allocated, parliament asks questions, and the minister evades or refuses to provide complete records.

“The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture does not belong to Gayton McKenzie. The Public Protector is now empowered to investigate,” Potgieter said.

The Public Protector will now determine whether to proceed with a formal investigation into the allegations.

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