Gayton McKenzie dodges parliament questions on R110 million arts funding

Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, has not appeared in parliament to answer questions about his allocation of over R109 million in Mzansi Golden Economy (MGE) Grants.

Democratic Alliance’s Spokesperson on Sport, Arts and Culture, Leah Potgieter, claims McKenzie is dodging parliament to avoid accountability for the allocation of this money. 

After McKenzie defunded multiple established festivals across the country, he advised these festival organisers to apply to the MGE for funding instead. 

“That advice was misleading, and some of South Africa’s most iconic arts and culture events have now been left unfunded,” Potgieter said. 

“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.”

Estimates show that the cancelled and downsized festivals have cost local economies up to R1 billion in lost tourism revenue, jobs and supplier income. 

The party has been pushing to get Minister McKenzie to answer to and explain these allegations in parliament, but the minister has not yet appeared. 

In responding to Potgieter’s allegations about pulling funding to South African festivals, McKenzie said there is no need to withdraw or clarify statements because “full details and answers have been given a number of times.”

In September, Mckenzie responded to queries that he had defunded major festivals. He argued that the government has been funding some of these festivals for decades, and that it is time to open funding to “other language festivals too.”

“We want the arts bigger, and not exclusive to certain languages only,” he said.

Additionally, McKenzie published a letter on 17 September, requesting the department to investigate funding that was disbursed to these festival organisers in 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pandemic caused the cancellation of these festivals, but the funding was not returned, according to the minister.

He specifically mentioned the Cape Town Jazz Festival, which was given R3 million in 2020, that was never returned.

“The Department has found itself in relationships with festivals and their organisers where the expectation of funding has become a form of entitlement, despite numerous other promoters looking to fund new and innovative festival concepts,” he added.

Major arts festivals cancelled

Arts festivals that were previously supported by the department were told to apply for funding with the MGE; however, when the MGE beneficiaries list was published, none of these festivals made the cut. 

This includes Aardklop, Cape Town Carnival, Innibos, Joy of Jazz, Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees, National Arts Festival, Suidoosterfees, Vrystaat Kunstfees and Woordfees. 

“Crucially, Mzansi Golden Economy was never created to fund large arts and cultural festivals,” Potgieter said. 

“Gayton McKenzie’s actions directly killed jobs, closed businesses and compromised tourism.”

Some festival organisers appeared in parliament, when McKenzie was absent, to testify to unfair treatment, inconsistent decision-making, and funding allegedly being awarded to deregistered or non-compliant entities. 

The Department has refuted these claims that beneficiaries were noncompliant, stating that they were based on a preliminary list of MGE beneficiaries in July 2025, and that none of these entities had received funding from the Department yet. 

The department said that “after considering all the sector’s concerns”, it extended the closing date for MGE funding until 1 February at 16h00. It has yet to reveal the official list of beneficiaries

The Department has previously stated that the MGE funding is a competitive process and is funding based on multiple factors. 

This includes current needs and emerging challenges within the sector, the merits of each application, and the eligibility and completeness of applications.

“No applicant is automatically entitled to funding,” the department said.