Minister Gayton McKenzie has once again failed to appear in Parliament today where he was due to give answers about the administration of R109 905 992 million in Mzansi Golden Economy (MGE) grants.
The DA lodged a serious objection about his failure to appear, to Committee Chairperson Joe McGluwa.
Minister Gayton McKenzie’s dodging of Parliament is no longer merely disrespectful — it raises serious questions about what he is trying to avoid explaining.
Crucially, Mzansi Golden Economy was never created to fund large arts and cultural festivals. Yet after personally defunding established festivals across South Africa, the Minister explicitly advised organisers to apply to MGE instead, creating the clear and reasonable expectation that this was an appropriate and viable funding route. That advice was misleading and some of South Africa’s most iconic arts and culture events have now been left unfunded.
The consequences have been severe. Festivals that anchor local economies, particularly in smaller towns and rural areas, were pushed into an application process never designed for them, only to be rejected, ignored, or left without outcomes.
Gayton McKenzie’s actions directly killed jobs, closed businesses and compromised tourism.
The economic fallout from cancelled and downsized festivals has cost local economies close to R1 billion in lost tourism revenue, jobs and supplier income.
Some Mzansi Golden Economy applicants told Parliament about unfair treatment, inconsistent decision-making, and funding being awarded to deregistered or non-compliant entities.
But to date, none of these allegations have been properly investigated or answered, because McKenzie will not come to Parliament to explain.
The MGE adjudication panel appointed by the Minister has appeared before Parliament, but behaved with open defiance.
The panel is chaired by the national spokesperson of the Patriotic Alliance who has no demonstrable professional background or recognised expertise in the arts, culture or creative industries, yet was entrusted with determining the allocation of hundreds of millions of rands in public funding.
This is the tragedy of what happens when Patriotic Alliance cadre deployment ruins institutions.
Multiple panel members failed to appear before Parliament, while the chairperson (the National spokesperson of the Patriotic Alliance) claimed they were not required to account because the panel’s term had expired. Public funds do not become immune from scrutiny because contracts lapse.
The Department and Deputy Minister have already confirmed that the appointment and authority of the panel rested solely with the Minister. Accountability therefore rests squarely with Gayton McKenzie, yet he fails to come to Parliament.
Instead of answering questions, the Minister has adopted an arrogant and dismissive attitude toward parliamentary oversight. His response, that there is “no need” to withdraw or clarify statements because “full details and answers have been given a number of times”, is contradicted by the reality that Parliament, applicants and the public still lack basic information about how decisions were made and how money was allocated.
The DA demands that the Minister answer the following:
- Why were festivals deliberately directed to apply to a funding programme that was never designed to support them, resulting in predictable failure and economic harm?
- Why were numerous MGE applications allegedly never considered, while others were approved despite serious compliance concerns, including deregistered entities?
- Why is the Minister refusing to subject his hand-picked panel to full parliamentary scrutiny if their conduct was lawful and fair?
Gayton McKenzie can choose to skip meetings, deflect questions and dismiss Parliament, but he will not escape accountability.
The DA will continue to pursue full disclosure of the MGE grant process and the fate of nearly R110 million in public money.