The Mzansi Golden Economy (MGE) process has come under fire, with calls for it to be dissolved due to serious flaws.
This was the view of ANC member Matsholo Mmolotsane after learning how the process was conducted.
Last Friday, the Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts and Culture heard allegations that Minister Gayton McKenzie handpicked adjudicators from his political party, the Patriotic Alliance (PA), without following due process.
At least three members of the adjudication panel — Chairperson Steve Motale, Vernon Vraagom, and Pastor Francisco Tejada — were confirmed to be active PA members.
Another ANC representative, David Kgabo, wanted to know who appointed the panel and how the process was handled.
Handpicked by the Minister
In response, the department’s Director-General, Cynthia Khumalo, admitted: “The panel was handpicked by the minister without following any criteria. He gave us a list of names, and no consultation was done. However, this is how it has always been done, even by the previous ministers. There is a departmental policy that allows ministers to use their discretion to appoint without following due process.”
She also revealed that the adjudicators were never vetted for conflict of interest.
But committee members rejected this explanation. “I was under the impression that due process was followed; I didn’t know that it was handpicked. This panel needs to be dissolved because it did not follow due process,” said Mmolotsane.
The department further admitted that some applications had been rejected without any legal basis, reinforcing concerns that the process was fundamentally flawed.
DA member Leah Potgieter pressed the issue, asking whether panellists had declared any potential conflict of interest or political positions. “When joining a committee, a conflict of interest must be declared at the beginning of the meeting. By declaring that potential, you safeguard yourself from any further activity that happens afterwards.”
Owning up to discrepancy
Motale admitted his political affiliation but denied any wrongdoing: “I am a member of PA, and I am responsible for their public relations. I did not declare any conflict of interest because there was none.”
ANC activist Simon Molefe also said he saw no reason to disclose: “I did not declare any potential interest because I’m not an active leader of the ANC, I’m only participating as an activist and as a businessman and a person who has been in the youth development.”
However, Molefe later confirmed that he adjudicated the application of his “comrade,” Thobela Dlamini.
Potgieter maintained this was unacceptable: “These are people who occupied political positions, and for me this is a serious potential conflict of interest. Secondly, the fact that there was no criteria given to the minister to appoint this panel, no vetting took place, and they did not declare their political affiliation beforehand, and [that] they still tried to hide that information is all suspicious. The issue is not belonging to a political party, but the failure to disclose is problematic for me. The minister needs to advise on what criteria he was using.
“The minister needs to come and explain why people with current and active political careers were adjudicating on public funds. There is no doubt that there was a conflict of interest.”
