EFF to report McKenzie for 'lying' about his R800,000 Olympics trip

The EFF has accused sport, arts and culture minister Gayton McKenzie of lying about his trip to the Paris Olympics.

TimesLIVE previously reported that R804,590.71 of taxpayers' money was spent on McKenzie's trip, which included R215,976 for flights, R113,271 for accommodation and R454,005 for ground transport.

McKenzie revealed the costs in a parliamentary written reply but has denied reports on the spending. He defended himself, claiming he attended only the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

“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 but wanted to get to know my new portfolio. Stop lying to people,” McKenzie said.

He later demanded transparency from his department regarding the amounts.

However, EFF spokesperson Leigh-Ann Mathys said the spending was “a lot for one person”.

“The expenditure was extensive and is puzzling as the figures and what they relate to seem to expose exorbitant and unethical use of taxpayers' money,” Mathys said. “Figures such as R454,005 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.

“Being the clumsy criminal that he is, who is perpetually overwhelmed by social media attention, McKenzie took to social media to deny that he ever went to the Paris Olympic Games, and that he left on the same day of the Olympics. He made this stupid pronouncement forgetting his answer to a parliamentary question, and exposing himself, because if he spent one day at the Olympics, it then begs the question who was being paid for during that period as outlined in his own answer to a parliamentary question,” she said. 

Mathys labelled McKenzie as an example of the “failure” of South African correctional services to rehabilitate ex-convicts, citing McKenzie's past.

“His inability to lie coherently proves that he is committed to deceit and swindling the people of South Africa. These are the consequences of appointing criminals into critical positions of governance.”

The EFF has vowed 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 with 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.”

TimesLIVE