Gayton McKenzie names potential sponsors for South African F1 Grand Prix
Speaking to parliament on Tuesday, he said after meetings with the management of F1, the 'crucial one' would happen in the next two weeks and would be attended by potential sponsors ready to fund the event, which reputedly costs about R2bn.
Expected to take place in 2027, it would be the first F1 race to be held in South Africa since 1993, a grand prix won by Alain Prost in a Williams.
McKenzie's comments come after Kyalami was recently given the green light for upgrades by the FIA, the organisation that runs F1 racing.
Kyalami owner Toby Venter revealed last month the FIA had accepted final design proposals to upgrade the 4.5km circuit from Grade 2 to Grade 1 status, the international standard required to host Formula One racing.
The upgrade requires no change to the circuit layout and focuses on enhancing run-off areas, barrier systems, debris fencing, kerbs and drainage.
'When we hosted the Fifa World Cup, we put our country on the map to host big events, and we should not turn back now,' McKenzie told parliament on Tuesday.
'What will be different this time is that government will not be expected to pay. Companies such as MTN, MultiChoice, Heineken and many more have raised their hands and will be present with us in the meeting with Formula One management at the end of the month.
'We've even had patriots saying whenever you need help come to us, one of them being the richest man in the country, Johann Rupert.'
In December McKenzie set up an F1 bid steering committee to consider submissions from local promoters and three were received: one from Kyalami and two from Cape Town.
While no official announcement has been made about which bid was successful, it is all but certain that Kyalami, which hosted its first F1 race in 1967 and has long held a prominent place in local motorsport, is the preferred option.
Several attempts to bring the Grand Prix back to the country were thwarted due to the high cost of hosting the event.
As a motorsport fan, McKenzie has campaigned for the country to be on the F1 calendar since his appointment as sports minister in July 2024. He said F1 can't be considered a world championship if it misses an entire continent.
Morocco and South Africa have hosted world championship grands prix in the past, Casablanca in 1958, South Africa in East London in the 1960s and Kyalami 20 times between 1967 and 1993.
McKenzie kick-started the process when he met Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in September.
He said many laughed when he said Formula One should come back to South Africa.
'To those who say the country can't afford to host the F1, I'm saying the country can't afford not to host it,' he said, referring to the economic benefits he believed the event could bring in terms of tourism and temporary job creation.
It is not known how much tickets would cost, but they are likely to be expensive. The cheapest adult ticket at this year's Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne was about R2,000.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Mail & Guardian
8 hours ago
- Mail & Guardian
Cannabis reform without legal legitimacy is an illusion
Commercialisation of the trade requires cohesive regulation. File photo South Africa's cannabis economy is poised for transformation, but it is being built on a legal contradiction. The department of trade, industry and competition has proposed a national licensing authority and commercialisation framework. Yet the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act (CfPPA) of 2024 still prohibits all forms of cannabis trade, cultivation for profit and distribution. This is not a technical oversight. It is a constitutional fault line. We cannot licence what the law criminalises. Until the Act is amended to include commercial provisions or a new enabling Cannabis Commercialisation Act is passed, the department's proposals remain legally unenforceable. Officials risk overreach. Entrepreneurs face uncertainty. People are left in limbo. Even the government acknowledges this. In a parliamentary Q&A session in June, the department's minister, Parks Tau, said: 'It is the intention of the [department] to address this aspect as soon as cannabis has effectively been removed from the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act.' While this reflects a degree of momentum, it's legally insufficient. Removing cannabis from the Drugs Act may lift criminalisation, but the CfPPA continues to prohibit dealing, trading and cultivation for commercial gain. In short, even if cannabis is no longer classified as a drug, it still cannot be sold or licensed under the Cannabis for Private Purposes Act when the Act comes into operation. This legal misalignment has real-world consequences. The department's policy framework, while ambitious, suffers from structural blind spots: It focuses narrowly on licensing without transitional support for informal traders; It fails to protect small-scale cultivators from being displaced by large corporations; It omits regulatory clarity around cannabis clubs and urban dispensaries; It overlooks enforcement coordination across the South African Police Service, municipalities, and regulatory bodies; and It excludes meaningful integration of indigenous knowledge systems into product development. One major omission is the legal ambiguity about cannabis clubs, private collectives facilitating cultivation and sharing among adult members. Since the Haze Club case was dismissed in 2022 and its appeal withdrawn in 2024, the status of grow clubs remains undefined. This vacuum has enabled the proliferation of illicit urban clubs and pseudo-dispensaries selling untested products to non-members, tourists and minors, often with no age verification or dosage controls. What South Africa needs is regulatory clarity, not criminal silence. Rather than banning cannabis clubs outright or letting them proliferate unchecked, the law should define them, regulate them and use them as strategic tools within a broader commercialisation policy. Ignoring their existence only empowers the illicit market. South Africa must not repeat the mistakes seen elsewhere. In Thailand, decriminalisation without proper controls led to youth exposure and market chaos. The government reversed its policy in 2025, reclassifying cannabis as a controlled herb, shuttering thousands of dispensaries, and leaving farmers in limbo. In Italy, a sudden 2025 ban on low-THC products erased billions in legal revenue, criminalised compliant retailers, and triggered European Union-level legal challenges. In the United States, fragmented state-by-state regulation has caused enforcement confusion, increased youth access, and resurgence of illicit trade, particularly in states failing to fund education and safety programmes. In Canada, even with national legalisation, spikes in underage consumption, impaired driving and workplace incidents exposed the limits of reform absent cultural readiness and public health investment. And in Mexico, international price competition with the US led to cannabis crop abandonment, pushing rural farmers into more dangerous illicit drug markets. The common thread across these countries? Commercialisation without cohesive regulation, especially about cultivation, processing, distribution, retail, enforcement, education and cultural integration. Cannabis is not just a commodity. It's a cultural and constitutional indicator, reflecting whether we are capable of reform that is inclusive, ethical and enforceable. A well-regulated industry could empower rural cooperatives, restore trust with legacy growers, elevate local brands on the global stage and reduce harm in urban youth sectors. Properly regulated cannabis clubs offer promise. If legally recognised and governed, they could provide: controlled, adult-only access aligned with privacy rights; peer-based harm reduction and responsible usage education; traceable supply chains that reduce street-level trade; municipal licensing opportunities and tax reinvestment models; the promotion of community accountability and reinvestment; and entry-level platforms for small-scale cultivators operating in compliant, cooperative models. The time has come to move beyond fragmented intent. Commercialisation needs: Legislative legitimacy: Amend the CfPPA or pass a Cannabis Commercialisation Act; End-to-end value chain governance: Link licensing to retail, enforcement, and branding; Transitional and inclusive models: Support informal traders and vulnerable communities; Cannabis club regulation: Recognise and govern clubs under civic and constitutional frameworks; Enforcement clarity: Align the police, municipalities and DTIC to police illicit trade and protect minors and the vulnerable; and Ethical branding and indigenous knowledge integration: Elevate products that reflect our biodiversity and cultural heritage. Develop premium South African cannabis products for global markets. South Africa can build a cannabis economy that is just, lawful, inclusive, and resilient. But it starts with fixing the foundation. Anything less is not reform. It is an illusion.' Adv Simi Pillay-van Graan is the chief executive of Trikar Enterprise Solutions.


Mail & Guardian
9 hours ago
- Mail & Guardian
Nkabane's axing saves budget as first phase of Appropriations Bill is approved
Former minister of higher education Nobuhle Nkabane. (X) The National Assembly has approved the 2025-26 Appropriations Bill by 262 votes to 90, pushing through the first step in finalising the national budget, despite tension in the All 10 parties that form the GNU — the ANC, Democratic Alliance (DA), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Patriotic Alliance (PA), Freedom Front Plus (FF+), Good party, Rise Mzansi, the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), the United Democratic Movement (UDM) and Al Jama-ah — supported the Bill. The vote followed a day-long sitting at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, where Deputy Finance Minister 'Without passing this Bill, the government will lose authority to spend beyond 45% of last year's budget after July,' Masondo said. This meant departments would not be able to pay salaries or sustain basic services. He urged MPs to stay focused and ensure that service delivery was not interrupted. 'This Bill must be passed in full to allow departments to function properly,' he said. The Bill allocates R1.2 trillion over the medium term. Of this, R400 billion has been earmarked for transport infrastructure, R220 billion for energy initiatives and R160 billion for water and sanitation. Additional funds have been allocated to public health, education and social protection. MPs were allowed to indicate if they wished to vote differently from their party, but none did. Committee chairperson Mmusi Maimane called for efficient governance despite the difficult economic conditions. 'This budget takes place under severely constrained economic conditions. We must ensure our budgeting processes are efficient so that the people of South Africa can participate fully in their own appropriation.' Despite the passage of the Bill, the debate exposed tensions in the coalition government partners, with DA MP Andrew Whitfield making it clear that support for the budget should not be mistaken for consensus. 'We don't need a national dialogue. We need more dialogue between the ANC and the DA,' he said, referring to unresolved tensions between the two parties over corrupt ministers in the ANC's ranks. The DA had initially signalled it would not support the individual budgets of departments implicated in corruption, but changed its mind after President Cyril Ramaphosa removed higher education minister Ramaphosa dismissed Nkabane earlier in the week and appointed her deputy, MPs warned Manamela that they would do to him what they did to Nkabane if he did not perform, with EFF MP Sihle Lonzi saying they would work with him because he had shown a willingness to fix students' accommodation problems at tertiary institutions and the dysfunction of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme. The Patriotic Alliance's Ashley Sauls criticised delays and politicking ahead of the Bill, arguing that the DA had only supported it after scoring political points against the ANC in the form of Nkabane's axing. 'What we've learnt through this process is that we've placed politics above people,' Sauls said. Good party leader Patricia de Lille said the Bill was necessary but insufficient. 'A basic income grant is not radical. What is radical is a country where half the population lives in poverty,' she said. Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi said although the departmental budgets are not perfect, debating forever without supporting the Bill would imperil the poorest in the country. The IFP, FF+ and UDM, while supporting the Bill, raised concerns about the lack of targeted interventions, with IFP MP Nhlanhla Hadebe arguing that poverty and youth unemployment were not being adequately addressed. The Freedom Front Plus MP, Wouter Wessels, called for tighter fiscal controls, while the UDM's Nqabayomzi Kwankwa said the budget offered hope but fell short on public participation. 'The budget makes us feel like we are going to get there,' he said. The official opposition uMkhonto weSizwe party and Economic Freedom Fighters opposed the bill. EFF legislator Omphile Maotwe accused the coalition government of using the national budget to manage internal power plays. 'For the supervisors in the government on neoliberal unity, led by the chief supervisor Ms Helen Zille [the DA federal council chair] the budget is the tool to fight political squabbles,' Maotwe said. The MK party's Wesley Douglas described the Bill as 'morally indefensible', accusing the unity government of betraying its mandate, while the ATM's Vuyolwethu Zungula said white-owned businesses still retain 'a large portion of the state budget'. 'That is not transformation,' he said. The United Africans Transformation and National Coloured Congress parties also voted against the Bill, arguing it entrenched inequality and failed to break from 'neoliberal policies'. Attendance was decisive. Of the ANC's 159 MPs, 144 were present while the DA had 76 of 87 MPs in attendance. The IFP had 12 out of 17 and the PA's legislators were in full attendance, with all nine voting in favour of the budget. The FF Plus's five members were present and voted in favour. All ACDP, UDM, Rise Mzansi, Al Jama-ah, ActionSA and Build One South Africa MPs were also present. The Appropriations Bill now proceeds to its second stage, which involves detailed vote-by-vote scrutiny of departmental allocations. The final reading is expected before the end of the month, after which the Bill will be sent to the National Council of Provinces for concurrence.


eNCA
10 hours ago
- eNCA
Canal+ clears final hurdle to acquire MultiChoice
JOHANNESBURG - France's Canal+ said on Wednesday it had cleared the final regulatory hurdle for the buyout of Africa's largest pay TV enterprise MultiChoice and further expand its footprint on the continent. The company said in a statement that the South African Competition Tribunal had given its approval for Canal+ to acquire the approximately 55 percent of MultiChoice shares it does not already own. The approval "clears the way for us to conclude the transaction in line with our previously communicated timeline" by October 8 at the latest, Canal+ chief executive Maxime Saada said in a statement. "I'm excited about the potential this transaction unlocks for all stakeholders... the combined Group will benefit from enhanced scale, greater exposure to high-growth markets and the ability to deliver meaningful synergies," he added. Canal+ is present in 25 African countries through 16 subsidiaries and has eight million subscribers, according to the French group. MultiChoice operates in 50 countries across sub-Saharan Africa and has 14.5 million subscribers, it says. It includes Africa's premier sports broadcaster, SuperSport, and the DStv satellite television service. "It is a hugely positive step forward in our journey to bring together two iconic media and entertainment companies and create a true champion for Africa," Saada said about combining Canal+'s French language offerings with the English and Portuguese content on MultiChoice. Canal+ hopes that the acquisition will allow it to grow to 50 to 100 million subscribers in a few years, from 27 million currently. The mandatory share offer of R125 per share values MultiChoice at $3.0 billion. The approval came with several public-interest conditions worth about 26 billion rand over three years and keeping MultiChoice's headquarters in South Africa.