Dear Editor
The DA can reveal that a by way of a letter to his Department, seen by the DA, Minister Gayton Mackenzie is attempting to construct a propaganda campaign to justify cutting funding to iconic cultural festivals across the country.
This is a shocking and sickening discovery.
In a letter dated 17 September 2025, the Minister instructed his department to “find” funding disparities from during COVID-19 in an attempt to discredit festivals for receiving funding while events could not be staged at that time.
As part of this directive, he has also demanded the audited financial statements of major festivals.
COVID-19 happened five years ago and extreme lockdowns were forced onto all South Africans. To now weaponise the pandemic as a retroactive excuse for reckless defunding is a new low for Minister McKenzie.
It is apparent that Minister Gayton McKenzie is now scrambling to justify the unjustifiable withdrawal of funding to iconic festivals across the country such as the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, the National Arts Festival, the Suidoosterfees, the KKNK, the Woordfees, Innibos, Aardklop and the Vrystaat Kunstefees.
He has even withdrawn funding for the annual Open Book Festival.
Mackenzie knows that his decision to destroy the incoming festivals that keep many small town economies going, and are essential for thousands of small town jobs, is making him an enemy of people desperate for work in their towns.
This disingenuous move underscores what the Democratic Alliance has said from the beginning: there was never any rationale for cutting festival funding at the last minute.
These reckless decisions have threatened livelihoods, undermined job creation and forced organisers into a desperate scramble to avoid cancellations.
Parliamentary replies have further confirmed that the flagship provincial projects programme has been scrapped in favour of so-called “new initiatives,” with no clarity on what these are or how they benefit communities.
South Africa deserves better. Cultural festivals are not luxuries, they are vital platforms for preserving our diversity, supporting the creative economy and contributing billions to local and national growth.
We call on the Minister and his department to:
- Reinstate transparent, fair and consistent funding criteria;
- Immediately restore support for established festivals that have proven social and economic value; and
- Engage openly with festival organisers, communities and the cultural sector to ensure that new initiatives genuinely add value rather than undermine existing successes.
South Africa’s cultural heritage is too important to be sacrificed to Gayton Mackenzie’s uncaring plans. He talks big about big budget Formula 1 because the bigger project, the bigger the gaps for patronage. On smaller more cultural more meaningful festivals, he doesn’t care a damn.
What is needed is leadership that protects and grows this legacy, not one that tears it down without reason.
Regards
Leah Potgieter MP
DA Spokesperson on Sports, Arts & Culture