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The DA has formally asked the public protector to investigate sport, arts and culture minister Gayton McKenzie over allegations that he breached the Executive Ethics Code by appointing members of his own Patriotic Alliance (PA) party to decide the allocation of nearly R110 million in public funding.
The party is also seeking a probe into his department’s controversial Fifa World Cup expenditure.
The complaint, lodged on Thursday, accuses McKenzie of abusing his office by allowing political allies to benefit from state resources, exposing himself to conflicts of interest and failing to uphold the standards required of members of the executive.
DA sport, arts and culture spokesperson Leah Potgieter said the complaint was based on what the party described as a pattern of politically connected appointments and questionable spending decisions that warranted an independent investigation.
Central to the complaint is the appointment of the 2025/26 Mzansi Golden Economy (MGE) adjudication panel, which was tasked with distributing almost R110m in grants to artists, festivals and cultural organisations.
According to the DA, three of the six panel members were active members of the PA at the time of their appointment, including the party’s national spokesperson, Steve Motale.
The party argues that the panel’s composition created the perception that public funding could have been influenced by political loyalty rather than merit.
The DA further alleges that McKenzie personally determined the criteria for the panel and made the appointments without conflict-of-interest vetting.
It also wants the public protector to investigate appointments to entities such as the Robben Island Museum council, arguing they point to a broader pattern of politically connected appointments.
The second leg of the complaint relates to the department’s almost R31 million Fifa World Cup programme in Mexico and the US.
The DA says parliament is yet to receive complete records detailing who travelled, procurement processes and how public money was spent.
The party argues that the spending was unjustifiable while sports federations continue to struggle financially, and is asking the public protector to investigate possible maladministration, abuse of power, conflicts of interest and improper benefit under the Public Protector Act and the Executive Ethics Code.
The PA dismissed the complaint as “nothing but a headline-seeking stunt with zero evidence”, accusing the DA of recycling old allegations for political gain ahead of the November local government elections.
The party said McKenzie had already answered every parliamentary and media question on the issues, and challenged the DA to produce evidence of wrongdoing.
“The minister has been cleared on every prior public protector complaint and every prior referral to parliament’s Ethics Committee brought against him. There is no reason to expect a different outcome now,” the party said.
It argued that the DA was hoping the public protector would not conclude the investigation before the elections so that unresolved allegations could be used on the campaign trail.
The PA also accused the DA of attempting to divert attention from its own challenges as it faces growing competition from the party in the Western Cape. It announced that it was preparing its own complaint to the public protector over allegations involving former DA leader Tony Leon and Resolve Communications, claiming the matter raised questions about privileged access to DA ministers.
McKenzie’s comment will be added once received.
Editor’s Note: Our sports journalist Mahlatse Mphahlele was part of the media cohort whose trip to the World Cup was partly sponsored by the sports department.
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