Cape Town – Sports, Arts, and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie has defended his R800,000 trip to the 2024 Paris Olympics, which drew criticism.
McKenzie revealed in a parliamentary reply that his department spent R804,597.71 on the trip, including R215,976 for flights, R113,271 for accommodation, and R454,005 for transport.
He argued that the trip was work-related, involving meetings with international ministers, visiting athletes, and attending the opening ceremony.
I attended six meetings in Paris before the start of the Olympics, i went to the athletic villa to greet our athletes, I attended opening ceremony and watch the hockey, gymnastic & sevens game, I opened Ekhaya village & watched the rest of the Olympic Games on TV. What joyride ? pic.twitter.com/UirmMS3Teq
— Gayton McKenzie (@GaytonMcK) October 15, 2024
McKenzie said that he left after the Olympics began to return to work.
I left the day the Olympics started, I went for government meetings with other Ministers of other countries. I didn’t attend the Olympics, only the opening and I came back to work. I could have stayed but wanted to get to know my new portfolio. Stop lying to people. https://t.co/PupxeEtU5Q
— Gayton McKenzie (@GaytonMcK) October 14, 2024
He also revealed that R27 million was allocated to support 146 South African athletes.
The minister clarified that no public funds were used to sponsor superfans, ending their international travel support due to budget constraints.
“With the exception for Ms. Chauke and Mr Botha Msila, the department is not aware of any citizen who attended international events under the sponsorship of the department in the past two financial years,” McKenzie said.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
