Gareth Cliff Defends AfriForum After Report Exposes R1.6 Billion Spending: “They Deserve Every Cent”

• Broadcaster Gareth Cliff took to X to defend AfriForum after a damaging financial exposé surfaced online
• News24 revealed that the Afrikaner lobby group spent over R910 million on salaries and marketing between 2019 and 2024
• Mzansi is divided over Cliff's defence, with some backing his stance and others questioning AfriForum's accountability

Broadcaster Gareth Cliff has sparked fierce debate online after publicly backing AfriForum in the wake of a detailed financial report that laid bare how the lobby group spends its money. His post on Sunday, 26 July 2026, drew tens of thousands of views and cracked Mzansi wide open along familiar fault lines.

The Gareth Cliff Daily Briefing host fired back at News24 after the publication ran a story headlined "Inside AfriForum's money machine: How lobby group splurges on salaries, marketing." Rather than engaging with the figures, he went after the messenger, accusing News24 of producing "gotcha articles" while building nothing of value itself.

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"I love how an organisation that builds nothing has the temerity to publish gotcha articles about one that serves its community in tangible, positive and constructive ways. The people who run Afriforum deserve every cent they get. And I'll bet their donors agree," Cliff wrote on X.

See the post below:

What the AfriForum report revealed

The investigation found that AfriForum collected more than R1.6 billion from members and donors between 2019 and 2024. Of that, R589 million went towards salaries and employee costs for a workforce that ranged between 170 and 311 staff, while R321 million was directed at promotion, advertising and member recruitment.

That combined total of over R910 million on salaries and marketing stands in sharp contrast to the R304 million spent on direct project delivery, which includes efforts such as fixing potholes and running neighbourhood watches. The group's neighbourhood watch programme, one of its most publicised initiatives, received just R13.4 million over the entire period, amounting to roughly R75 832 per watch.

Director remuneration was redacted from financial reports seen by News24, though the publication was able to establish that some key directors earned between R2 million and R3 million annually. CEO Kallie Kriel's salary was not confirmed.

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SA reacts after Gareth Cliff defends AfriForum spending

The post pulled in thousands of reactions, and opinion was far from settled.

@kmf warned:

"Be careful @GarethCliff, you might be branded as AfriMaga"

@MereMortalM claimed:

"The people who run Afriforum are treasonous and simply utilise the Afrikaner victim complex and swart gevaar rhetoric to rob gullible white South Africans blind. They love racial inequality and plaster 'solutions' that ensure perpetual funding."

@SDP_CPT argued:

"An organisation is of course legally entitled to pay its executives R3 million a year. That does not end the ethical discussion. The real question is whether such remuneration reflects the values the organisation professes to uphold?"

@Whatalivewelive agreed:

"Just look at promises made by the EFF and ANC about schools and Universities, then compare this to what Afriforum and Solidarity did with NO money from government. Imagine the ANC try and do that."

@j_jaimo pushed back:

"Fight the message, not the messager. The question is simple: where is R1.6B? Don’t lie about cheap road markings and legal costs on frivolous petitions. When are AfriForum officials submitting personal bank records to Madlanga?"

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@wmwchris critiqued:

"Shame they don't devote this much energy to uncovering HOW the ANC came up with R102 million to pay off their debt, R20 million for the 112th birthday bash, & hundreds of millions to fund their 2024 election campaign... all in a matter of months from a bankrupt political party."

Gareth Cliff discusses who’s funding Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma

Meanwhile, Briefly News previously reported that Gareth Cliff weighed in on the March and March Movement’s funding debate, discussing claims that the protests may have outside backing.

He argued that the simplest explanation is usually the answer and urged people to focus on available facts instead of speculation.

Source: Briefly News