EFF to refer McKenzie to Ethics Committee for ‘possible and likely misuse of state funds’

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has accused Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie of lying about the expenditure on his trip to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France.

On Tuesday, McKenzie defended his trip to the Olympics, which cost taxpayers over R800,000.

McKenzie recently revealed in a parliamentary reply that his department incurred a total cost of R804,597.71 for his trip to Paris.

‘Lies’

The EFF said the party has noted the “outright lies” by McKenzie about his trip to the Olympics.

“The expenditure was extensive and is puzzling as the figures and what they relate to seem to expose exorbitant and unethical use of tax payers money.

“Figures such as R454 005.00 for ground transportation and R215 976.96 for flights are a staggering revelation of what can only be described as looting, as McKenzie clearly took a large cohort of his associates as these figures could not possibly account for an individual,” the EFF said.

ALSO READ: ‘I could have stayed longer’: Gayton McKenzie defends R800k ‘joyride’ to Paris

Ethics committee

The EFF said it intends to refer McKenzie to Parliament’s Ethics committee for the “possible and likely misuse of state funds” for his personal benefit and the benefit of those associated to him.

“Additionally, for violating his oath of office, as he has on one hand confirmed he attended the Olympics at the expense of the taxpayer, while he has on the other hand stated publicly on social media that he did not attend them.”

Olympics

In a social media post, McKenzie defended his decision to attend the games, where multiple gold medalist Tatjana Schoenmaker was crowned South Africa’s most decorated Olympic athlete.

“I attended six meetings in Paris before the start of the Olympics. I went to the athletic village to greet our athletes, I attended the opening ceremony and watched the hockey, gymnastics and [rugby] sevens game.

“I opened Ekhaya village and watched the rest of the Olympic Games on TV. What joyride?” McKenzie said in a post on X, (formerly Twitter).

“I left the day the Olympics started, I went for government meetings with ministers of other countries. I didn’t attend the Olympics, only the opening, and I came back to work. I could have stayed [longer] but wanted to get to know my new portfolio. Stop lying to people,” the minister added.

McKenzie also revealed that the government spent R27 million (R27.892,000) for 146 athletes who represented the country at the Paris Olympics although the costs were still being calculated.

Additional reporting by Molefe Seeletsa

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