Dossier questions overlapping PA-linked appointments to arts and Johannesburg boards

A leaked dossier has raised questions about how people linked to Sport, Arts and Culture minister Gayton McKenzie and his Patriotic Alliance (PA) came to hold overlapping seats on Johannesburg municipal boards and national arts, culture and heritage bodies.

The dossier named people who served on the boards of the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA), the Metropolitan Trading Company (MTC), Metrobus and the Johannesburg Social Housing Company (Joshco) before or alongside appointments to bodies that fall under the department of sport, arts and culture.

Among them is the PA's top lawyer, Eugene Botha, who has told IOL that he quit as chairperson of the National Arts Council (NAC) on Wednesday because the council pressed ahead with appointing a new chief executive and finance head after McKenzie asked it to hold off.

Botha said the council went ahead while its court case against McKenzie, who had tried to dissolve it, was still unresolved.

"In my judgement, proceeding at that stage created avoidable governance and legal risks," Botha said.

"I resigned because I concluded that the council's working relationships had become untenable and that I could no longer contribute effectively. I stand by my decision.

"My concern throughout was that the NAC's interests should take precedence over every other consideration."

Four other council members, Simon Clarke, Siphosethu Mtamzeli, Tau Masemola and Charnie-Lee Adams-Kruger, resigned with Botha.

Botha, a PA member, said he had been open about his ties to McKenzie and the party.

"I have worked with McKenzie and am a member of the Patriotic Alliance," Botha said.

"My national executive committee membership ended at the end of August 2024, before the NAC posts were advertised if I recall correctly.

"I applied through the public process, was interviewed and was appointed with effect from January 1, 2025. My relationships were never concealed, and I submitted a written declaration of interests. Political association is not evidence that I disregarded those duties."

McKenzie dissolved the NAC council on May 26 over a labour dispute about performance bonuses and concerns about procurement spending.

The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria suspended the dissolution on July 31 and reinstated the council until McKenzie's decision could be reviewed.

The dossier claimed that political, professional, business and family ties ran through the institutions it examined.

"The ministry of sport, arts and culture should really be renamed the ministry of cadre deployment," the dossier stated.

The dossier argued that the appointments had to be read together.

"These patterns become far more significant when viewed collectively rather than as isolated appointments," the dossier stated.

"The same network of individuals repeatedly appears across national cultural institutions, heritage bodies, municipal entities, public boards, audit committees, and oversight structures."

McKenzie is the PA's president and the minister of sport, arts and culture, whose portfolio includes the NAC and the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF).

The dossier placed appointments to these bodies within McKenzie's sphere as minister.

In June 2025, when then DA MP Liam Jacobs questioned Botha's appointment in a parliamentary committee. McKenzie said he had broken no law.

"I haven't breached any act or law," McKenzie said. "Knowing someone does not equal conflict of interest."

McKenzie did not respond a list of questions sent to him. 

Kenny Kunene is the PA's deputy president and has served as Johannesburg's member of the mayoral committee for transport.

The dossier linked his municipal role to the MTC, Metrobus and the JRA, and stated that the MTC had been moved from the City's economic development portfolio into transport.

"Through the strategic appointment of Patriotic Alliance members, associates and family members, the party appears to have established significant influence over the Johannesburg Roads Agency, Metrobus and the Metro Trading Company, which was transferred from the City's economic development portfolio to transport at the insistence of MMC Kenny Kunene," the dossier stated.

Kunene denied the allegations made against his party saying: “it is a smear campaign aimed at tarnishing his party ahead of elections by the Democratic Alliance.”

Kunene said the issue of their members being on boards was nothing irregular as other parties also have their members sitting on boards. 

Among other names mentioned, the dossier identified Simon Carl Clarke as the PA's first treasurer and as an associate of McKenzie and Kunene.

According to the dossier, Clarke has chaired the JRA board, served as a non-executive director of Joshco, and sat on the NAC and the NFVF council.

"The JRA is chaired by Simon Carl Clarke, the PA's first treasurer and Kenny Kunene's former co-star on a reality show," the dossier stated.

"Simon Clarke, former reality television personality and associate of both Gayton McKenzie and Kenny Kunene, served on the National Arts Council and National Film and Video Foundation while simultaneously serving as chairperson of the Johannesburg Roads Agency and previously as a non-executive director of Joshco."

McKenzie dissolved the NFVF council on September 23.

Asked about the council members' appointments and terms, the NFVF referred IOL to McKenzie's office.

"The appointment and or dissolution of the NFVF council is the sole prerogative of the minister of sport, arts and culture," NFVF communications officer Busisiwe Hoho said.

"The NFVF team, despite all the changes and challenges, remains committed to serving SA filmmakers with diligence."

Hoho said the NFVF was consulting its company secretary for the dates that council members served.

Clarke did not respond to a request for comment sent through the party’s media liaison officer and other intermediaries.