The Western Cape Government will oppose Gayton McKenzie’s attempt to stop an investigation into a R3 million fundraising controversy.
McKenzie, the Patriotic Alliance leader and Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, approached the Gauteng High Court to terminate the Section 106 investigation.
The probe relates to municipal affairs during his time as mayor of the Central Karoo District Municipality.
The controversy centres on a 2022 gala dinner that reportedly raised R3 million for a “100-day plan”.
The plan included infrastructure projects such as repairing bucket toilets.
Questions raised over funds
Allegations suggest the money was administered outside the municipality’s official financial systems instead of being deposited directly into its bank account.
In court papers, McKenzie’s lawyer Eugene Botha said McKenzie’s company transferred R1 182 000 to the municipality on 25 April 2025.
The payment reportedly carried the reference “GALAEVENT2022. MCKENZ”.
However, Western Cape Local Government MEC Anton Bredell said serious questions remained about the fundraising initiative and other governance concerns.
He said those issues required an independent statutory investigation.
McKenzie challenges investigation deadline
McKenzie’s legal team argues that the investigation, launched in August 2023, expired after a statutory 90-day period.
They claim that once the deadline passed, authority over the matter shifted to national government and the province no longer had jurisdiction.
Bredell rejected that argument.
He accused McKenzie of using repeated legal challenges, including litigation reaching the Constitutional Court, to delay the investigation and avoid scrutiny.
Bredell demands accountability
Bredell said McKenzie had continued challenging the process despite court orders requiring his cooperation.
“Every delay serves only to postpone accountability to the residents of the Central Karoo,” he said.
The MEC warned that allowing investigations to be defeated through delays would weaken municipal oversight and accountability.
He said it would also undermine Parliament’s intention when it created mechanisms to investigate municipal governance failures.
Bredell said the Western Cape Government was confident that the court would reject McKenzie’s application.
He described it as another attempt to derail a lawful investigation into how the funds were raised and administered.