Picture: Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture is Gayton McKenzie
By STAFF REPORTER
4 November 2026 – The Democratic Alliance (DA) said it has come to its attention that a staunch Patriotic Alliance (PA) “leader” and an advocate acting on behalf of the party was allegedly appointed to the Cricket World Cup Local Organising Committee (LOC) as a non-executive director in August 2025. The DA said PA is just like the ANC, the same cadres are deployed and everyone else is excluded.
DA Western Cape leader, Tertuis Simmers said Phillip Johannes October’s appointment to the committee raises serious questions, especially with the recent TicketPro scandal exposed by the Daily Maverick. Simmers said along with serving on the PA Regional Executive, he is also part of Cheslyn Daniels’ campaign team and is known to be the legal advisor for the Cape Town region.
“Gayton has clearly ensured that his cadres hold the keys to the Local Organising Committee, along with the company that has the rights to the tickets. What makes this more concerning is that the Hawks reported in 2023 that Phillip October was convicted of tax fraud.
“He allegedly pleaded guilty before changing his plea and will be back in court later in the year. The case was linked to his company, Xiphos Security Services (M2010015131). Phillip and his company initially pleaded guilty under a Section 112 agreement to 146 counts, including fraud, VAT-related offences, tax evasion, and failure to pay PAYE, UIF and Skills Development Levy,” said Simmers.
He further said Phillip is also alleged to face another case in Bellville for Gender-Based Violence (GBV). Simmers added that South Africa and the World Cup host cities deserve better.
“Our sports, arts and culture industry should not be a personal ATM for the Minister and the Patriotic Alliance. The PA cannot be trusted as a party and certainly not in government. From broken promises to ANC-style cadre deployment – they will deliver nothing, but chaos.
“We must stop this type of chaos. We cannot allow the PA to use Cape Town or other Western Cape towns to ensure their friends, families and so-called leaders benefit from taxpayer money. Your rates and taxes must be used for delivery of services, not for PA cadres to get rich,” he said.
