The Democratic Alliance in the Western Cape is calling on Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie to provide information needed to finalise a provincial investigation into approximately R3 million raised at a 2022 Johannesburg fundraising event during his tenure as mayor of Central Karoo District Municipality.
During a sitting of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament this week, it was revealed that the Section 106 investigation remains ongoing, more than three years after the “Bring New Life to the Desert” gala dinner was held in Sandton in May 2022. The event, which promised to turn Beaufort West into a “Dubai”, raised funds purportedly for municipal service delivery projects including fixing public swimming pools and eradicating bucket toilets.
The investigation has faced repeated legal challenges, preventing the provincial Department of Local Government from obtaining information needed to establish whether the funds raised were paid into the District Municipality’s bank account and used for their intended purpose.
Questions over missing funds
According to reports, the money was not initially deposited into the municipality’s official bank account but rather into an account held by a law firm, which is linked to the PA’s legal department. In April 2025, during a council meeting, it was reported that R1,2 million – the amount McKenzie claims was the total raised at the gala – was transferred into the municipality’s bank account, leaving a discrepancy of R1,8 million unaccounted for.
Western Cape MEC for Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning Anton Bredell initiated the formal forensic investigation in August 2023 under Section 106 of the Local Government: Municipal Systems Act, focusing on allegations of maladministration, fraud and corruption.
Legal challenges mount
After McKenzie refused to cooperate with the probe, Bredell obtained a Western Cape High Court order compelling his cooperation. McKenzie unsuccessfully challenged this ruling through the High Court, the Supreme Court of Appeal and finally the Constitutional Court in April.
In July, McKenzie launched a new application in the High Court seeking to declare the ongoing investigation unlawful and terminate it. His legal argument posits that the investigation is moot because it has exceeded the 90-day statutory period for reporting stipulated in the Municipal Systems Act, and that it has improperly expanded to examine private financial affairs beyond its municipal mandate.
Bredell confirmed that the provincial government will oppose this application.
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Contempt of court and substandard toilets
Bredell also revealed that not only is McKenzie in contempt of court, but reports indicate that during the PA’s term in office they built substandard toilets for people in the Central Karoo District. This raises serious questions about the party’s governance, financial accountability and ability to deliver basic services.
Dave Bryant, the DA’s Western Cape spokesperson on local government, environmental affairs and development planning, said the matter is ultimately about accountability to the people of the Central Karoo.
“Various courts have ordered cooperation with the investigation, but the information is still not provided. If there is nothing to hide, then McKenzie and the PA should provide the information, open the books and allow the investigators to establish the facts,” Bryant said.
He added that residents deserve to know what happened to money raised in their name. “Legal rights must be respected, but litigation cannot become a mechanism to prevent legitimate investigations from reaching their conclusion. Taxpayers should not carry the cost, while basic questions about public funds remain unanswered.”
