DA going hard at Gayton McKenzie’s PA

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has urged the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to investigate the funding of the Patriotic Alliance (PA) following allegations that the party’s leader, Gayton McKenzie, is involved in organised crime.

McKenzie has dismissed the allegations as baseless, but the call for investigation comes after convicted fraudster Jermaine Prim made claims regarding the party’s finances.

DA Raises Concerns Over Political Spending

JP Smith, DA Western Cape Metro Chairperson, highlighted the discrepancy between the PA’s reported income and its observed expenditure.

Smith stated: “When you are in a political arena and you are seeing the PA’s spending, vast amounts of money in by-elections, extraordinary amounts of money, and you see what they are spending and you see the small amount of money that is actually admitted by them or declared by them as fundraising or income in terms of the Political Parties Fundraising Act, then you can see that there’s a huge disconnect. Clearly, there’s a lot of money in circulation or being used that is not declared. Those are also offences.”

The DA argues that the discrepancy in declared funds versus visible expenditure raises questions about the legality of the PA’s financial operations and calls for SARS to step in.

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) published political party donation declarations for the third quarter of the 2025/26 financial year (1 September to 31 December 2025), with the Democratic Alliance (DA) reporting by far the largest share.

The PA recorded zero donations during the period.

Political Implications

The allegations and subsequent calls for investigation have the potential to heighten scrutiny on smaller political parties, particularly regarding compliance with the Political Parties Fundraising Act.

While McKenzie continues to refute claims of wrongdoing, opposition parties maintain that transparency and accountability in political financing are critical to maintaining public trust.