DA Refers Minister McKenzie to Public Protector Over R31 Million FIFA World Cup Expenditure

By Mpho Tumelo Modise | Editor-in-Chief, EZA News

The Democratic Alliance has formally referred Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie to the Public Protector, alleging multiple breaches of the Executive Ethics Code arising from decisions involving nearly R110 million in departmental funding and the controversial R30.95 million spent on South Africa’s FIFA World Cup 2026 programme.

The DA’s dossier, submitted by party spokesperson Karabo Khakhau, goes beyond the World Cup expenditure. It includes allegations of a “jobs-for-pals scheme” said to benefit members of the Patriotic Alliance – McKenzie’s own party – as well as concerns about the authorisation and oversight of broader departmental spending. The DA has indicated it intends to escalate the complaint further and has not ruled out additional oversight mechanisms.

McKenzie’s defence of the FIFA expenditure has been characteristically direct, if politically costly. Asked to account for the R31 million, he told media that “R31 million is not a lot of money for government” and framed ministerial spending as an inherent function of the role: “Our job as ministers is to spend money.” The statements, widely circulated on social media, have amplified the political damage, generating the kind of clip that opposition parties do not need to contextualise to use effectively.

The minister broke down the expenditure in detail, noting that his personal travel costs amounted to just over R1 million of the total figure, and has maintained that all spending was lawful and aligned with the department’s mandate to promote South Africa globally in the context of the World Cup. He also approved R3 million in funding to ensure South Africa’s men’s and women’s hockey teams participate fully funded at the 2026 FIH Hockey World Cup – a decision that, under normal circumstances, would attract little controversy but now enters a political environment in which every spending decision from his office will be scrutinised with heightened intensity.

Whether the Public Protector investigation proceeds – and on what timeline – remains to be seen. What is already evident is that McKenzie, one of the Government of National Unity’s more media-fluent operators, has handed the DA a durable line of political attack at a moment when coalition accountability questions are sharpening heading into the November local government elections.