Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie defends his controversial choices for the Cuba book fair delegation amid allegations of political favouritism.
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Sports, Arts and Culture Minister, Gayton McKenzie, hit back at allegations in a Facebook post on Sunday, that a delegation that was sent to an event in Cuba was loaded with his "cronies and promoters of his party".
"My crime was wanting inclusion I received a list that I am supposed to sign for writers and poets to go to Cuba, I am the final signatory as the minister at [the] department of sport, arts and culture," the McKenzie said.
"I took one look at that list and told the acting director general, chief of staff and my spokesperson that I wanna see more inclusion, I want clear that it should have Coloured and White people also. I will never be ashamed of my instruction."
The delegation was made up of 15 writers as well as artists from South Africa and who were sponsored by the department.
His response comes after the City Press reported that authors slammed the McKenzie for the choices made on the delegation for the Havana International Book Fair.
"I can pull you previous trips undertaken overseas and you will see who was excluded. I will never apologise for wanting to include all races," McKenzie said.
"Racism shall never find a place under my watch, lastly to all these politically connected writers that are complaining, your time of giving instructions to my department is over."
McKenzie said he has only met two people on the list and that he only met them once.
He said that he does not have the phone numbers of anyone who was on the list and that he does not know a majority of the writers and poets.
"I don’t care about the media, I dislike you in same manner that you dislike me," he said.
"Write what you like, I have a million people following me on all my socials, I will get my version across anytime. PS: These leaks are straight from people in my department that I removed from this trip."
According to the City Press, McKenzie allegedly ignored major voices in writing circles, and instead included "his cronies", among them pro-Israeli clerics and "promoters" of his party, the Patriotic Alliance (PA).
According to historian and author Patric Tariq Mellet, McKenzie added that three PA promoters to the delegation and none of which were 'authors of note'.
Mellet said that these "are the three highly questionable choices with political patronage," according to the report.
Ismail Mahomed, the director of the Centre for Creative Arts at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, told the publication that the lack of policy credibility and transparency by the minister was a greater issue than the final delegation.
South Africa is attending the book fair, which started on Thursday and runs until February 23, as a guest of honour.
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