CAPE TOWN – Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie has walked out of a parliamentary meeting for the second time before facing questions about his department’s controversial R31 million FIFA World Cup spending.
McKenzie was expected to appear before parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts and Culture on Tuesday to account for the department’s spending on South Africa’s 2026 World Cup delegation.
According to the Democratic Alliance, the minister left the meeting at about 18:00, shortly before substantive questioning began. He returned at approximately 20:30, after most committee members had already completed their questions.
DA spokesperson on Sport, Arts and Culture Leah Potgieter said McKenzie claimed he needed to attend an urgent presentation. However, the party questioned whether his departure was linked to Patriotic Alliance political activity in George, citing posts on the minister’s social media account.
“Parliamentary accountability cannot be treated as less important than party-political activity,” Potgieter said.
This marks the second time this month McKenzie has left a Portfolio Committee meeting whilst MPs were preparing to question the department’s World Cup spending.
Extraordinary flight costs raise red flags
During Tuesday’s meeting, the committee heard details of several travel costs that raised concerns amongst MPs.
The DA says Nontsikelelo Pule’s airfare amounted to approximately R593 219 for travel to only two cities. Pogiso Mokwena’s airfare was reportedly around R294 703 for four destinations, whilst spokesperson Stacey-Lee Khojane’s airfare was approximately R181 692 for one city. Charles Cilliers reportedly incurred airfare of approximately R375 642 across three cities.
By comparison, other delegates travelled to multiple destinations at substantially lower costs. Gareth Brown’s airfare for travel to Pachuca, Mexico City and Monterrey was reportedly approximately R46 668.
The department acknowledged that its travel agency had not properly reconciled the expenditure and that certain amounts appeared to include personal travel unrelated to the World Cup programme.
Nearly half of delegation from minister’s own office
The composition of the official delegation has come under scrutiny, with eight of the 18 official delegates being members of McKenzie’s own office, representing approximately 44% of the delegation.
The DA questioned why so many ministerial-office officials were required for the World Cup programme and why certain operational responsibilities were not handled by departmental specialists.
The department could not adequately explain what specialised skills these individuals possessed, why they were selected rather than relevant departmental professionals, or what measurable outcomes each produced.
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Questions over personal travel remain unanswered
Another issue raised during the meeting was the alleged inclusion of personal travel in some of the expenses.
The DA says officials could not provide parliament with a complete breakdown showing which costs were directly related to official World Cup duties and which may have involved private travel.
The party wants confirmation that any personal expenses initially paid by the state have been fully recovered.
The department has reportedly asked for additional time to complete the reconciliation and audit of the figures. This has raised questions about the status of the department’s close-out report, which was presented as a final position despite remaining subject to reconciliation.
McKenzie has repeatedly defended the expenditure, saying the approximately R31 million was disclosed and related to a wider World Cup programme rather than simply his personal trip.
The DA is demanding a fully audited and reconciled financial statement covering the World Cup expenditure. It also wants parliament to receive all invoices, itineraries, flight classes and approval records associated with the delegation, together with confirmation that any personal travel has been repaid.
