Sports department rubbishes Gayton McKenzie's alleged bias against Cape Town’s F1 bid team

The Department of Sports, Arts and Culture ( DSAC) has called the allegations made by the Cape Town Grand Prix SA (CTGPSA) team as “utterly baseless”. 

CTGPSA, this week, suggested that the Minister of Sport Gayton McKenzie acted in the best interests of Kyalami’s F1 bid and labelled the Bid Steering Committee (BSC) as a biased group, who also acted in Kyalami’s interests.

CTGPSA also raised concerns about the BSC’s handling of the R10 million deposit, which was part of the bid application process. Cape Town has proposed a street-style circuit, similar to that of Monaco. 

In order to bid to host the F1, each group had to submit an application motivating their location as well as making a deposit of R10 million. CTGPSA wanted to pay the deposit with a promissory note, which is a legal document outlining their intended loan repayment structure.

They said the BSC was “vague” about stipulations around the deposit.

“On 7 December 2024, Gayton McKenzie stated ‘the race is going to happen at Kyalami’ and this was before announcing the BSC, looking at other bids or doing economic assessments. The fact that minister McKenzie appointed the BSC cannot just be overlooked as trivial, especially given how things played out after this. 

“Then, when the bid document was put out, we were given fewer than 10 days to submit our entire proposal, including a R10 million deposit – a bid to host a major global sporting event. Only after we pushed for an extension to encourage a fair process did an extension emerge.

“We respect the BSC and minister McKenzie and we want to work with them. But as a proudly South African bid, we hold fairness, accountability and a legacy for our country in high regard. We believe our plan offers the best shot at a successful, long-term F1 future on the African continent,” CTGPSA said.

The group questioned how the BSC used the R10 million deposit, what triggered a refund, the timeframe of the refund, whether or not the funds would be held in an interest bearing account and if there was an audit trail.

“We feel alternative submissions received to be more comprehensive, viable and suited for the purpose,” was the response CTGPSA said it got from the BSC, which raised even more concerns. 

“A payment of a deposit of R10 million to support an open bid submission should NOT be the determining factor as to whether a bid is considered or not, particularly when it does not make any changes to the economics of a bid."

Stacey-Lee Khojane, spokesperson for the DSAC refuted CTGPSA’s claims and said that all bids were judged fairly. 

“The bid process was open to anyone who wished to submit a bid. All of the bids were judged fairly and objectively by the BSC. The minister was not a part of that process. Their allegations are utterly and totally baseless,” Khojane added.

The BSC has acknowledged CTGPSA’s remarks, but have not yet respond to Independent Media's enquiries about the allegations.