By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Sports Minister, Gayton McKenzie who has come under fire for an “extravagant and exorbitant” trip to the Paris Olympic Games earlier this year, justified his trip, emphasising transparency and adherence to the ministerial handbook.
Fullview reported more than R800 000 was spent on McKenzie’s attendance at the Olympic Games in Paris, France.
In response to a written question from DA MP Liam Jacobs, McKenzie said: “Yes, I attended the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The total costs incurred by the department for my attendance at the Games amounted to R804 590.71”.
The response also included a table breaking down the costs, showing the department spent R215 976.36 on his flights and R454 005 on “ground transport”, without explaining what the latter entailed.
His insurance was R592.63, accommodation was R113 271.00, and his subsistence and travel allowance was R20 745.72.
Mckenzie briefed the media on his 100 days in office on Thursday at the Market Theatre in Johannesburg.
He used his press briefing to express his discontent with the negative reports on his trip to the Olympic Games in Paris.
Now you want to portray me as a person who is taking a joyride. That thing you can do with other ministers; you have chosen the wrong one.”
Mckenzie said as a businessman, he is used to flying first class but as a minister he has since had to downgrade to business class.
Internationally, the Ministerial Handbook demands of me to fly business and not first class. I am mentioning this so people can know that I have not done anything outside the handbook.”
Mckenzie said if he has to account for his international trips then all ministers should also account.
“If I have to account, we expect every minister to account, because this is important to all of you.”
McKenzie said: “I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong. And I’m as transparent as possible.
EFF MP Sinawo Thambo laid a complaint with Parliament’s ethics committee against McKenzie for violating the ministerial handbook through his “flagrant misuse of taxpayers’ money” and for “being dishonest in the public domain, as he in contradiction to his own parliamentary response to a question for written reply, denied attending the Olympic Games”.
The Ethics Committee is expected to review the case in the coming weeks, and if McKenzie is found guilty of any ethical violations, he could face a range of consequences, from a reprimand to more severe disciplinary action.
Thambo also laid a complaint with the Public Protector, which includes a “request to investigate possible fraud relating to the discrepancies on the expenditure amounts reflected in McKenzie’s response to a parliamentary question, the discrepancies on expenditure amounts in his letter to the director general of sports, arts and culture on the 15th of October 2024, and the discrepancies in expenditure amounts in a back-dated letter of response to him by the acting director general which is dated 10 October 2024”.
Reflecting on his 100 days, Mckenzie said he had introduced a new innovation that would ensure that South African artists do not “become poor”.
“Artists are poor because they get exploited by their record labels. They are also poor because the people representing them cannot even account for the money that we give them.”
Mckenzie said sometimes artists would represent themselves while negotiating contracts but would get exploited.
He said from now on, government would make a group of lawyers available to help artists with their contracts, free of charge.
“I called a group of lawyers of the arts and I said to them, ‘we will pay you as government’. You must look through each contract each artist is going to sign in this country.”
Mckenzie said he was working with the Department of Trade and Industry to ensure that artists should be recognised as workers.
Over the years, many artists have complained to government to help artists sustain their livelihoods instead of paying for their funerals. Different sports, arts and culture ministers have been dubbed “minister of funerals” because of their attendance at the funerals of artists and sports legends.