McKenzie's foundation not registered months after promise to donate salary

Shortly after being appointed sport, arts and culture minister Gayton McKenzie made a bold pledge to donate his entire salary to a foundation he would establish in the name of missing six-year-old Joshlin Smith from Saldanha Bay.

His commitment to creating the Joshlin Smith Foundation was meant to honour her memory and raise awareness about missing children in South Africa.

“I will donate 100% of my parliamentary salary to the Joshlin Smith Foundation for missing children,” he said at the time. Several months later, the social development department says no such foundation has been registered.

DA MP Liam Chad Jacobs, during a parliamentary Q&A session, asked the minister of social development, Sisisi Tolashe, about the registration status of the foundation as a nonprofit organisation.

“The Joshlin Smith Foundation is not registered as a nonprofit organisation (NPO) in terms of sections 13 of the NPO Act and has not submitted any application for registration in terms of the act administered by the department of social development,” said Tolashe.

Previously, the department of sport, arts and culture had explained that the foundation's establishment was a personal project and McKenzie had already been donating his salary to various charitable causes. 

“The important thing is that the minister has made it clear that he will not be taking his salary for his own benefit,” the department said in a statement. “This has been illustrated by the fact that he has already donated his salary payments to charitable causes. This is something he will continue to do, especially while the foundation is being set up.

“It is important not to rush the establishment of such a foundation, as the job of finding missing children is a serious one and it would require consultation and collaboration with other organisations who are already involved in doing this, to ensure that the foundation really makes a difference. It would also want to support the work of people who are and have already been making a difference.”

McKenzie was criticised by some political leaders for using the missing child case as a campaign tool during this year's elections.

Joshlin went missing on February 19 and her mother, Racquel Chantal Smith, initially told police she had left the child with her boyfriend, Jacques Rowhan Appolis, in their home in Middlebos informal settlement in Saldanha Bay because she was not feeling well. The disappearance of the child sparked a frantic search by community members and police. Joshlin has not been found.

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