Gayton McKenzie Fires Back at R31 Million World Cup Spending Claims, Vows to Release Receipts

• Sports Minister Gayton McKenzie has responded to criticism over R31 million World Cup spending
• The Sports Minister says he will publicly release receipts showing how every cent was spent
• His latest response comes as the DA continues demanding answers over the department's World Cup expenditure

Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie has hit back at claims that R31 million was spent on him during South Africa's FIFA World Cup programme, insisting he would "be fired and jailed" if that were true. The minister also pledged to release receipts detailing how taxpayer money was used as scrutiny over the department's World Cup spending continues.

Gayton McKenzie rejects R31 million claim

McKenzie responded on X on Wednesday, 15 July, after social media posts claimed the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture had spent R31 million on him alone during the FIFA World Cup.

"I should be fired and jailed if I used 31 million rand on myself on this trip," McKenzie wrote.

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He added that he would "bring receipts publicly" and show South Africans "exactly how every cent was used."

Gayton McKenzie responds to DA criticism over World Cup

In a separate post, McKenzie responded directly to the Democratic Alliance (DA), which has criticised the department's estimated R30.95 million World Cup support programme. He accused the party of focusing on the wrong issues and wrote:

"I shall account for every cent used during WC in a day or two."

The minister also criticised the DA's approach to government spending, saying the public would soon see a full accounting of the World Cup expenditure.

DA continues to demand answers over World Cup spending

The latest exchange follows the DA's call for McKenzie to appear before Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts and Culture to explain the department's World Cup spending.

According to information previously released by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, the estimated R30.95 million programme covered official travel, hospitality, match tickets, cultural activations and fan engagement activities. The department has said it is still reconciling the expenditure before releasing a detailed breakdown.

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Public reaction to McKenzie's posts has been mixed. While some users backed his promise to publish receipts, others said taxpayers still deserve a detailed explanation of how the money was spent.

McKenzie has now publicly committed to releasing receipts within days. Attention will shift to whether the promised breakdown addresses the questions raised by the DA and members of the public.

ActionSA also questions World Cup spending

Briefly News also reported that ActionSA joined calls for greater transparency over the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture's estimated R30.95 million FIFA World Cup programme.

The party argued the spending highlighted the need for stricter oversight of ministerial expenses and called for a detailed breakdown of the costs, including Minister Gayton McKenzie's individual expenditure once it has been reconciled.

Source: Briefly News