Minister of Social Development Sisi Tolashe has revealed that Gayton McKenzie’s foundation, Joshlin Smith Foundation was not registered as a non-profit organisation (NPO).

After he was announced as Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, McKenzie said he would donate 100% of his parliamentary salary to the foundation for missing children.

In order to pay tribute to her memory and increase awareness of the problem of missing children in South Africa, he was committed to creating the Joshlin Smith Foundation.

Tolashe disclosed this during the parliamentary Q&A session after she was asked by the DA MP Liam Chad Jacobs about the registration status of the foundation.

More questions emerged from the Q&A, including the date of its operation and if the foundation was a NPO or not.

“The Joshlin Smith Foundation is not registered as a non-profit organisation (NPO) in terms of sections 13 NPO Act and has not submitted any application for registration in terms of the Act administered by the Department of Social Development.

“Registration as an NPO under the legislation NPO Act is voluntary registration,” Tolashe said.

IOL has tried to obtain comment from the minister but to no avail.

However, the sports department had previously mentioned that the foundation was the minister’s personal establishment.

Several political figures criticised McKenzie for allegedly using the missing child case as a political campaign ploy during this year’s elections.

When Joshlin vanished on February 19, her mother, Racquel Chantal Smith, told police that she had left the kid at her boyfriend’s house in the Middlebos informal settlement in Saldanha Bay, Jacques Rowhan Appolis, because she wasn’t feeling well.

Joshlin is still missing despite a thorough search conducted by law enforcement and community people following her disappearance.

kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za

IOL Politics

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