Minister Gayton McKenzie has once again chosen evasion over accountability by failing to fully account for the costs associated with more than 20 luxury, taxpayer-funded trips undertaken, as required by the official parliamentary question.
As repeat offenders in either failing to answer parliamentary questions at all or responding wholly inadequately, the Minister and his Deputy’s latest reply reads as a bloated travelogue masquerading as a clear answer to the full cost breakdown requested and required.
The Minister undertook 12 international trips to destinations including Brazil, Russia, Singapore and Spain, yet failed to disclose a single cent of the associated costs. His Deputy followed the same script, detailing 8 international trips to countries such as Morocco and India, while equally omitting what these journeys cost the South African taxpayer.
Suspiciously, the complete silence on domestic travel expenditure is concerning, particularly given that he was specifically required to account for it. The refusal to disclose the costs associated with both the Minister and the Deputy Minister raises one unavoidable question: what is the Minister hiding?
This is the same Minister who previously branded the suggestion that Ministers fly economy as “sadistic.” In a country where 12 million South Africans are unemployed this reflects a government elite increasingly detached from the daily struggles of ordinary citizens.
This arrogance comes as the GNU has already spent nearly R500 million on travel, racked up by a grotesquely bloated Cabinet of 75 Ministers. As of June 2025, the Minister’s department alone had accumulated R6.7 million in travel expenses. While South Africans tighten their belts, the executive loosens theirs at public expense.
ActionSA has consistently demanded accountability for runaway Cabinet perks and excess and we have introduced a Cabinet Reform Package of Bill which includes:
The Enhanced Cut Cabinet Perks Bill, to dismantle the culture of entitlement entrenched in the Ministerial Handbook; and
The 23rd Constitutional Amendment Bill, to abolish all 43 Deputy Minister positions and end the wasteful duplication that drains public funds.
ActionSA will not be deterred by evasive answers and will continue to expose waste and fight to end the era of unchecked perks, padded privileges and executive excess at the expense of taxpayers.
Minister Gayton McKenzie Hides the Costs of 20 International Trips and All Domestic Travel
Minister Gayton McKenzie has once again chosen evasion over accountability by failing to fully account for the costs associated with more than 20 luxury, taxpayer-funded trips undertaken, as required by the official parliamentary question.
As repeat offenders in either failing to answer parliamentary questions at all or responding wholly inadequately, the Minister and his Deputy’s latest reply reads as a bloated travelogue masquerading as a clear answer to the full cost breakdown requested and required.
The Minister undertook 12 international trips to destinations including Brazil, Russia, Singapore and Spain, yet failed to disclose a single cent of the associated costs. His Deputy followed the same script, detailing 8 international trips to countries such as Morocco and India, while equally omitting what these journeys cost the South African taxpayer.
Suspiciously, the complete silence on domestic travel expenditure is concerning, particularly given that he was specifically required to account for it. The refusal to disclose the costs associated with both the Minister and the Deputy Minister raises one unavoidable question: what is the Minister hiding?
This is the same Minister who previously branded the suggestion that Ministers fly economy as “sadistic.” In a country where 12 million South Africans are unemployed this reflects a government elite increasingly detached from the daily struggles of ordinary citizens.
This arrogance comes as the GNU has already spent nearly R500 million on travel, racked up by a grotesquely bloated Cabinet of 75 Ministers. As of June 2025, the Minister’s department alone had accumulated R6.7 million in travel expenses. While South Africans tighten their belts, the executive loosens theirs at public expense.
ActionSA has consistently demanded accountability for runaway Cabinet perks and excess and we have introduced a Cabinet Reform Package of Bill which includes:
The Enhanced Cut Cabinet Perks Bill, to dismantle the culture of entitlement entrenched in the Ministerial Handbook; and
The 23rd Constitutional Amendment Bill, to abolish all 43 Deputy Minister positions and end the wasteful duplication that drains public funds.
ActionSA will not be deterred by evasive answers and will continue to expose waste and fight to end the era of unchecked perks, padded privileges and executive excess at the expense of taxpayers.