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Daily Maverick
3 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Gayton McKenzie should be relieved of his Cabinet position
While everyone was distracted by the spectacle in the Oval Office between Presidents Trump and Ramaphosa, Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie was engaging in xenophobic outbursts, not as a campaigning Patriotic Alliance rabble-rouser but, in effect, asserting xenophobia as government policy. While addressing the chairpersons and CEOs of all Department of Sport, Arts and Culture entities – including museums, theatres and heritage and funding agencies, he launched into an attack on 'foreigners' in South Africa. He is quoted, inter alia, as saying: 'Some of you here [have] the audacity to hire foreigners instead of South Africans.'; 'I don't care how you used to do it. But for as long as I am the minister, there will be no foreigner that will work in an entity while a South African can do the same thing.'; He said that 'foreigners' employed by departments needed to be 'out in three weeks'. 'I said it, I want them out, get them out.' Leaving aside the inappropriate tone of engagement by a Cabinet Minister, it is the language of 'them' and 'us', threatening to divide and fomenting hate, which should disturb us all. In reporting by Marianne Thamm, we understand that, 'Daily Maverick has seen a letter dated 9 May from McKenzie to the chair and CEO of the Market Theatre following up on 'an audit' of 'non-South Africans employed by the various entities incorporated under the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture'. ' We need to fully understand how dangerous this kind of exercise of authority is from a man patently unfit to hold any leadership position. It beggars belief that he could have been considered for a Cabinet position. An 'all-in' GNU required this irksome compromise, it would seem. His Patriotic Alliance won eight seats in the National Assembly in last year's election, which represents 2.05% of the vote. But, Sport, Arts and Culture has mostly been a ministry where shamed politicians go, to while away time or recover from scandal. The ANC has never really taken this portfolio seriously, which is shameful and says a great deal about what the party prioritises. We should also not be surprised at McKenzie's 'instruction' to Department of Sport, Arts and Culture entities. This is who he is, a crude, embarrassing street-fighter, former criminal and a well-known driver of xenophobia and hate. While district mayor in Beaufort West, McKenzie vowed to make the Central Karoo an 'illegal immigrant-free zone', sending shivers down the spines of the Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Ethiopian communities. As Richard Pithouse has written in a piece worth reading again, 'When McKenzie and the Patriotic Alliance were brought into the government of national unity, all its participants knew that they were right-wing populists whose xenophobia was openly at odds with the Constitution.' There is a reason McKenzie initially expressed a desire for the Home Affairs portfolio. Constitutional rights undermined No one in the Cabinet seems to have raised an eyebrow at their colleague's most recent statements. The President himself has said and done nothing in response to McKenzie's comments, which a large grouping of civil society organisations has called, 'vulgar', in a statement released on 20 May. It further called the comments 'morally repugnant and entirely devoid of legal authority'. The civil society statement says that, 'His demand of CEOs that they immediately dismiss foreign employees or face dismissal themselves constitutes an egregious violation of South Africa's constitutional law, its labour laws and its international treaty obligations. South Africa's Constitution enshrines the rights of everyone – including foreign nationals – to fair labour practices. The minister's remarks and instructions undermine these rights and amount to unlawful discrimination based on nationality, which is expressly prohibited under both domestic and international law.' Again, these sorts of sentiments, while rightly called 'morally repugnant', are not new. They course dangerously through our political discourse. The ANC itself has frequently expressed xenophobic sentiments. A few examples to recall: In 2022, Phophi Ramathuba stood at the bed of a Zimbabwean patient who had been involved in a car accident, in a hospital in Bela-Bela, Limpopo, and said: 'You are killing my (sic) health system.' Ramathuba was MEC of Health at the time. It was a shameful scene, and even while the cameras rolled, Ramathuba showed very little care. When these words were followed by an outcry, Ramathuba insisted she would not apologise. Defiant and callous. After the May 2024 general election, Ramathuba was elevated to Premier of Limpopo. So, xenophobia pays, it seems. Stilfontein When we witnessed a most abhorrent act as illegal miners were trapped inside a mine in Stilfontein with no help forthcoming, the response from Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, made national and international headlines when she said, stone-cold: 'You want to send our law enforcement officers to risk because criminals want to destroy our country? What if we send the police or military down there to supply them with food, the place explodes and caves in? What will happen? So families must continue to sacrifice because criminals got themselves into a bind?' It ran on, with Ntshavheni saying the government would not send help. 'We will smoke them out', she said, without understanding how objectionable her words were. What a disgrace. We recall Operation Dudula, which gained prominence on the streets, especially after its leader, Nhlanhla 'Lux' Dlamini, was arrested in 2022. Operation Dudula brought with it violent language and has enticed those at the margins of our society. There is a straight line from where we are today back to 2008 and the painful moment when violence was unleashed against foreigners across our country. McKenzie doubles down Instead of being remorseful and attempting to understand the constitutional imperatives at play, McKenzie reinforced his comments during an interview with the Africa Report on 22 May while attending the South Africa-France Investment Conference at Place Vendôme in Paris. If the interview is anything to go by, one shudders to think what further contribution McKenzie made at this conference. Responding to the civil society statement, he said, ''Our people don't have jobs. We've got double-digit unemployment, youth unemployment in our country, but illegal foreigners have jobs. 'We cannot allow this and they can call me vulgar. What is vulgar? It's giving your neighbour children food, shelter, water, while your own children are starving. That is vulgar… 'I will get rid of illegal foreigners. I will close this type of charity because we need patriotic charities in our country. I will close down the charities that are anti-government, that are anti-South Africa.' McKenzie, like all populists, understands grievance. But he was greeted with cheers by attendees at the Paris conference while hugging and handshaking. During the same interview, he claimed he had 'Presidential aspirations'. So, President Ramaphosa needs to be clear about where this GNU stands on xenophobia and also the threats to 'close down' 'anti-government' charities (sic). What exactly does this mean? In the same interview, he specifically attacked the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, one of the civil society signatories to the statement mentioned above. There can be no ambiguity about the role of civil society in a democracy. It is not McKenzie's gift, but a constitutional right and the President of the country should reassert this as head of state of our constitutional democracy. Complex causes As with everything else in South Africa, the reasons for violence are complex. Sometimes it has been driven by xenophobia, at other times a rather more confusing cocktail of anger, frustration and intolerance bubbling at the surface of our society, fuelled by exclusion, poverty and rampant unemployment. We seem to be straining at the seams as the repercussions of deep inequalities, our inability to bring about structural economic transformation after 1994 and the old baggage of the apartheid years come to haunt us. The environment is ripe for blaming 'the other' while competing for scarce resources. At the heart of the incendiary rhetoric lies populist exploitation and an instinct to simplify the complex. This is not unique to South Africa. We have seen it in Donald Trump's presidency and the arguments for Brexit. Widespread dissatisfaction with the status quo has driven voters in small towns towards the politics McKenzie espouses. Our towns and municipalities, mostly falling apart as a result of ANC corruption and neglect, are ripe pickings for the Patriotic Alliance. Last week, the party won a seat off the ANC in the small town of Sutherland, and the ANC was able to hold off the PA in two other closely contested by-elections. Last week, we heard of xenophobic violence flaring up in Addo, with dire consequences. We should not be so distracted by historical clips of Julius Malema singing 'Kill the boer!' that we fail to see McKenzie and his ilk in plain sight. Our challenges require thoughtful leadership rooted in the Constitution, not McKenzie's brand of politics, which will only result in further corruption and hate. We can call on our hapless politicians to 'put an end' to the xenophobic violence, rhetoric and disruption that often accompanies these protests, but xenophobia is a challenge for the whole of our society. Having said this, however, President Ramaphosa needs to send a clear message against this thuggery and intimidation by one of his Cabinet ministers. The reality is that McKenzie has no place in government and his clownishly dangerous comments must be met with sanction. If our passive President does not act against McKenzie's threatening comments against civil society and his illegal pronouncements against government entities, then we must assume that these comments represent the GNU Ramaphosa leads. DM
Daily Maverick
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
Gayton McKenzie's vulgar ‘foreigners' outburst needs to be called out by the GNU he serves
Gayton McKenzie's recent xenophobic rant singling out the employment of two Zimbabweans by the Market Theatre is Trumpian in its populist vulgarity. As the country's Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie has sworn an oath to the Constitution of South Africa. Last week, he took the opportunity, while addressing the chairpersons and CEOs of all Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) entities – including museums, theatres and heritage and funding agencies – to unleash a shocking tirade aimed at 'foreigners' in South Africa, regardless of their legal status, it appears. 'Some of you here [have] the audacity to hire foreigners i nstead of South Africans,' he boomed at those gathered. 'I don't care how you used to do it. But for as long as I am the minister, there will be no foreigner [our italics] that will work in an entity while a South African can do the same thing.' He ordered that all 'foreigners' employed by departments needed to be 'out in three weeks'. 'I said it, I want them out, get them out,' he ranted. That none of the other parties in the multiparty Government of National Unity have yet called out McKenzie for his threatening tone and xenophobic rhetoric is a test of the values that bind the GNU. Leveraging unemployment Under the guise of addressing South Africa's shocking unemployment rate, McKenzie singled out the example of two Zimbabweans employed by the Market Theatre, one a personal assistant and the other a handyman. He also singled out a 'foreign' driver. These were not people, said McKenzie, with scarce skills. However, Daily Maverick has ascertained that the handyman and personal assistant were appointed before 2020. The assistant is married to a South African and has the right to live and work in the country, while the handyman, when employed, had the required legal documents. In other words, they have rights in the country. McKenzie raved on: 'Nothing occupies me more than the foreigners working in your departments. I want them out. Get them out before I get you out.' Now Daily Maverick has seen a letter dated 9 May from McKenzie to the chair and CEO of the Market Theatre following up on 'an audit' of 'non-South Africans employed by the various entities incorporated under DSAC'. In the letter, requesting that the paperwork be sent, McKenzie demanded to know how much each employee was paid and 'what process was followed to determine that no South African was willing to do eithere (sic) job?' 'Suicide and riots' It was at a meeting for the annual ceremony for the Signing of Shareholder Compact where each institution has its annual performance strategy ticked off, that McKenzie chose to let loose his rant. This is significant. He blamed the suicide rate in South Africa on high unemployment rates, which he said had the potential of causing 'massive riots' in this country. He said his aim during his term was to promote the employment of South Africans. Not a peep about arts and culture in South Africa, and no distinction between naturalised South Africans, those with permanent residence and those who have secured legal documents. 'All foreigners must go.' Current director of the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KZN, Dr Ismail Mohammed, also a former CEO of the Market Theatre Foundation, who exposed corruption at the institution in 2017, has since hit back at the minister. 'General xenophobia' Mohammed spoke out immediately after McKenzie's attack at the signing ceremony and told Daily Maverick that 'the tone and outrageous commentary is synonymous with his general xenophobia'. Each institution has its annual performance strategy signed off by the DSAC at the event, and McKenzie's presence at the ceremony was because, as minister, it is he who can hire and fire board members. McKenzie was issuing executive orders, like Donald Trump. McKenzie, said Mohammed, had already handpicked chairpersons of boards who would naturally act as his extensions. The minister has no jurisdiction, however, in the hiring and firing of CEOs, as these are appointed by the institutions themselves. Mohammed said that although the legislation referred to them (chairs) as accounting officers to the DSAC, it was the council that was legally responsible for their performance and contracts. McKenzie can recommend dismissal, but the boards will have their hands tied as CEOs would be inclined to take the matter to the CCMA or the labour court. Of course, the correct method of doing this, said Mohammed, would be to give institutions that the minister felt had fallen 'foul' of the law 30 days to 'regularise the situation'. This would give everyone time to secure the correct papers for the employees, and for each institution to 'draw a progress policy document for the employment of foreigners that is in accordance with the South African constitution', said Mohammed. Calls for censure As McKenzie's tirade began to go viral last week, more and more disgusted artists called for some sort of censure or rebuke from the government. As a member of the Cabinet, McKenzie represents the government, and so does his vulgarity. McKenzie is known for his xenophobic outbursts and populist sloganeering while out campaigning for the Patriotic Alliance. But as a minister, however, it is not a good look. Playwright and cultural activist Mike van Graan angrily responded that if McKenzie remained in the Cabinet, 'then Nelson Mandela's speech, 'Never, never and never again will it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another' means absolutely nothing. 'We cannot decry Trump and Europe for the racist manner in which they treat Africans and other migrants of colour and not resist Gayton McKenzie with all that we have and demand his immediate removal from government,' said Van Graan. DM
IOL News
09-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Spaza shop registration: A mere 6% have been licensed, says Minister Ndabeni-Abrahams
Minister of Small Business Development Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams says out of a total of 87,407 spaza shops that have been registered, just over 5,000 have been issued with licences. Image: File picture: Kopano Tlape/GCIS A mere 6% of registered spaza shops have been issued with licences, Small Business Development Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams said. Ndabeni-Abrahams disclosed that a total of 87 407 spaza shops have been registered since the registration was closed. 'Out of that 87 407, 54 583 are owned by South Africans while 32 824 are owned by non-South Africans. "And out of that number, only 5 456 have been issued licences,' she said. Ndabeni-Abrahams gave the figures during a question and answer session in the National Assembly on Wednesday, when ANC MP Cristopher Malematja enquired about the number of spaza shops that have been registered since the expiry of the deadline for their registration. She told MPs that the process of registering spaza shops was the competency of the municipalities. 'The numbers that I'm presenting here are numbers that we have received from the report as we work together with the Department of Cogta. "In order to make sure that we also verify the information that we have received, our teams are able to then account for the numbers that have been verified.' The registration of spaza shops was ordered by President Cyril Ramaphosa last November following the deaths of at least 22 children after a total of 890 reported incidents of food-borne illnesses were reported across all provinces. Ramaphosa announced that all spaza shops and other food handling facilities should be registered within the municipalities in which they operate within 21 days. Those that were not registered within the stipulated time and did not meet all health standards and requirements were to be closed. However, the initial deadline was extended amid integrated multidisciplinary inspection teams undertaking compliance inspections of food handling facilities, manufacturers, distributors, wholesaler and retailers. In a follow-up question, Malematja enquired about the specific legal, administrative and operational criteria utilised by Ndabeni-Abrahams's department and its agencies to assess compliance during the spaza shop registration process. He also asked about the number of shops that have been closed due to non-compliance since the expiration of the registration deadline and reasons cited for their his closure. In response, Ndabeni-Abrahams cited the Businesses Act, the National Consumer Protection Act, the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics, and Disinfectants Act and the National Health Act as the legislation to ensure compliance by the spaza shops. 'All of these seek to do the most important things, address the challenges that talk to the absence of valid trading licenses or permits and look into the failures that are there to register businesses with appropriate authorities.' However, Ndabeni-Abrahams said they were awaiting an updated report from the NatJoints of the number of the spaza shops that will be closed or that have been closed since the registration process. Ndabeni-Abrahams said the R500m fund that has been established with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has not dispensed monies as yet, pending the verification of spaza shops. She explained that the fund will benefit compliant South African-owned businesses and those owned by those foreigners naturalised prior to 1994. Cape Argus
IOL News
08-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Only 6 percent of 87,000 newly registered spaza shops have been issued with licences
Minister of Small Business Development Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams says out of a total of 87,407 spaza shops that have been registered, just over 5,000 have been issued with licences. Image: File picture: Kopano Tlape/GCIS The number of registered spaza shops that actually have been issued with licences sits at a mere 6%, Small Business Development Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams said on Wednesday. Ndabeni-Abrahams disclosed that a total of 87,407 spaza shops have been registered since the registration was closed. 'Out of that 87,407, 54,583 are owned by South Africans while 32,824 are owned by non-South Africans. And out of that number, only 5,456 have been issued licences,' she said. Ndabeni-Abrahams gave the figures during the question and answer session in the National Assembly when ANC MP Cristopher Malematja enquired about the number of spaza shops that have been registered since the expiry of the deadline for their registration. She told MPs that the process of registering spaza shops was the competency of the municipalities. 'The numbers that I'm presenting here are numbers that we have received from the report as we work together with the Department of Cogta. In order to make sure that we also verify the information that we have received, our teams are able to then account for the numbers that have been verified.' The registration of spaza shops was ordered by President Cyril Ramaphosa last November following the deaths of at least 22 children after a total of 890 reported incidents of food-borne illnesses were reported across all provinces. Ramaphosa had announced that all spaza shops and other food handling facilities should be registered within the municipalities in which they operate within 21 days. Those that were not registered within the stipulated time and did not meet all health standards and requirements were to be closed. Video Player is loading. 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Next Stay Close ✕ However, the initial deadline was extended amid integrated multidisciplinary inspection teams undertaking compliance inspections of food handling facilities, manufacturers, distributors, wholesaler and retailers. In a follow-up question, Malematja enquired about the specific legal, administrative and operational criteria utilised by Ndabeni-Abrahams's department and its agencies to assess compliance during the spaza shop registration process. He also asked about the number of shops that have been closed due to non-compliance since the expiration of the registration deadline and reasons cited for their his closure. In response, Ndabeni-Abrahams cited the Businesses Act, the National Consumer Protection Act, the Foodstuffs, Cosmetics, and Disinfectants Act and the National Health Act as the legislation to ensure compliance by the spaza shops. 'All of these seek to do the most important things, address the challenges that talk to the absence of valid trading licenses or permits and look into the failures that are there to register businesses with appropriate authorities.' However, Ndabeni-Abrahams said they were awaiting an updated report from the NatJoints of the number of the spaza shops that will be closed or that have been closed since the registration process. 'Those that have heeded the call to get registered will not be affected. We have given them a space of six months to make sure that they are compliant,' she said, adding that a fund has been established to assist them with compliance. 'Once we get the report from the NatJoints that is updated on the specifics in terms of those that are not compliant, we'll be able to then provide it to the House and other honourable members.' Ndabeni-Abrahams said the R500m fund that has been established with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has not dispensed monies as yet, pending the verification of spaza shops. She explained that the fund will benefit compliant South African-owned businesses and those owned by those foreigners naturalised prior to 1994. 'The reason to establish that fund is mainly to assist South African-owned spaza shops to make sure that they don't get closed - those that are not compliant - but also to help them create a competitive edge over the partners that they are competing with.'
TimesLIVE
02-05-2025
- Politics
- TimesLIVE
McKenzie cracks down on employment of foreigners
Sport, arts and culture minister Gayton McKenzie has written to chairpersons and accounting officers of the department's entities requesting detailed information about non-South Africans employed by these entities. Members of parliament's sport, arts and culture portfolio committee alleged the Robben Island Museum prioritises foreigners for vacancies, urging McKenzie to take action. 'When I became minister, the first thing I asked was: how many foreigners are there in the department? I was told none,' he said during the committee meeting last week. 'I am drafting a letter to the acting director-general and I will CC Robben Island Museum. I assure the committee I will handle this matter personally and consider it dealt with. We cannot have a situation where foreigners are being given jobs while our children do not have jobs in the Western Cape.' In the letter, McKenzie has requested all entities provide information about foreigners employed by them within three working days. This includes: name, nationality and length of stay in South Africa; status and nature of work permit if they are not permanent residents (date of issue and expiry); critical or scarce skills possessed that could not be found in the local workforce; expiry date of work contract; and person responsible for signing off on their appointment. The exercise would not be limited to the Robben Island Museum. 'To limit the exercise to only one entity would be incorrect and the decision has therefore been made to include all entities for review.'
