McKenzie defends donating more than R400K of his salary amid unregistered foundation saga

“I am not stealing my own salary from anyone,” he said.

Minister of sports, arts and culture Gayton McKenzie.
Minister of sports, arts and culture Gayton McKenzie.
Image: Eugene Coetzee/The Herald

Sports, arts and culture minister Gayton McKenzie has defended how he has been spending his salary after pledging to donate his entire parliamentary salary to the Joshlin Smith Foundation, established in honour of a six-year-old Saldanha Bay girl who went missing.

TimesLIVE previously reported the foundation has not yet been registered as a nonprofit organisation.

On Sunday, McKenzie issued a detailed statement clarifying he has donated R467,575 of his R478,950 salary since June to various organisations, including the Kagiso Art Gallery, spinning organisations and charities.

“In the first months of my term, we have focused on the work of the department and the ministry, and I have used the salary to fund worthy causes close to my heart, and the money has truly been making a difference. I have not used a cent of it for myself, and don’t intend to. Let’s be clear on that,” he said.

The minister faced accusations from other political parties which alleged he had exploited Joshlin's case as a campaign tool during the recent elections.

“The Joshlin Smith Foundation does not yet exist, because we want to make sure we get it right and don’t just do it to please the members of other political parties who think this matter has anything to do with them. It is a private, personal matter, relating to my own funds and what I choose to do with my own money. I am not stealing my own salary from anyone, people.

“To rush into the creation of any foundation would be a mistake, and the obvious fact that it has not yet been registered does not mean that I have gone back on my undertaking to not benefit from my ministerial salary.

“We will continue to use the money to do good, with or without any foundation. Once the foundation is set up, we will also have to make sure that it will enhance the good work being done, not distract from it. When we interview for the directors, we will need the right people, to ensure that the foundation and its work can outlive me someday,” reads the statement. 

McKenzie's initial pledge to donate his salary to the Joshlin Smith Foundation was made in July, with the goal of supporting missing children. Though the foundation has not yet been registered as a nonprofit organisation, McKenzie assured that he has not spent a single cent of his salary for personal gain.

“When I became a minister, I declared that I would not benefit from my salary and that it would be spent on the funding of the Joshlin Smith Foundation, which was yet to be set up.”

TimesLIVE


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