A group of civil society organisations has expressed concern and strong condemnation of the recent public statements and directives issued by Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie on foreign national employees, calling for an immediate public retraction of what they termed unconstitutional directives and associated threats.

Speaking at a recent signing of stakeholder compacts with public entities falling within the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DSAC), the Minister said of foreign nationals employed by these entities, “I want them out . . .Get them out before I get you out.”

He demanded of those in attendance: “If you are (hiring) foreigners . . . I expect the CEOs, the board chairpersons, and the whole board to act within two weeks after receiving my letter tomorrow.”

The instruction followed a directive he issued on April 28, mandating an immediate audit of all foreign nationals employed across DSAC entities.

“Letters have been issued to these entities, following the finalisation of that audit, which require further particulars of employees, and the processes followed prior to their employment,” the civil society organisations said.

The group said McKenzie’s demand of CEOs that they immediately dismiss foreign employees or face dismissal themselves, constitutes an “egregious violation of South Africa’s constitutional law, its labour laws and its international treaty obligations”.

The organisations also called for a formal apology to the individuals and institutions targeted by the Minister’s comments, and a commitment from the DSAC to uphold fair employment practices, grounded in the country’s Constitution and laws.

“South Africa’s Constitution enshrines the rights of everyone — including foreign nationals — to fair labour practices. The Minister’s remarks and instructions undermine these rights and amount to unlawful discrimination based on nationality, which is expressly prohibited under both domestic and international law,” the organisations expressed.

They further explained that the threat to dismiss public entity CEOs for failure to carry out illegal instructions constituted a “gross abuse of ministerial power”.

The organisation pointed to the Public Finance Management Act and basic tenets of administrative justice, which they said do not grant Ministers the authority to compel unconstitutional conduct or to bypass lawful grievance and employment processes.

“Yet not only does the Minister appear entirely ignorant of the basic tenets of the constitutional dispensation under which he serves, he appears to be financially irresponsible as to the resources and funds which the DSAC is required to steward.  Should institutions act on the Minister’s directives, they will almost certainly face multiple legal challenges. These actions would inevitably result in costly litigation and damages to be funded by the public purse,” they said.

The organisation pointed out that McKenzie, in his capacity as a steward of public resources and constitutional values, had a duty to “act lawfully, rationally, and in good faith”.

They noted that his directive showed him to be “entirely unappreciative of this duty”.

“…his remarks are clearly intended to inflame a dangerous and growing xenophobic sentiment in South Africa. It seems unthinkable that the South African executive would accommodate within its ranks such odious hate-mongering even as our President visits the United States and rightly calls out the deliberate disinformation being promulgated about South Africa and incentivising of hate and division and again rightly insists on the value, dignity and equality of Palestinian lives,” the organisation said.

They further highlighted that McKenzie’s directive reflected a profound misunderstanding of the portfolio he had been entrusted to lead.

“To treat the presence of foreign nationals in the arts and culture space as a problem to be purged is to desecrate that space. It is not only legally untenable—it is intellectually impoverished, culturally regressive, and diplomatically self-sabotaging."

The organisations called for a clear guidance from the Presidency and Cabinet affirming that all employment in the public sector must comply with South Africa's labour laws and constitutional principles, regardless of nationality.

The civil society organisations includes the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation; Campaign for Free Expression; Campaign on Digital Ethics; Corruption Watch; Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution; Defend our Democracy; The Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation; Foundation for Human Rights; The Global Movement Against Statelessness; The International Labour Research and Information Group; Justice and Activism Hub; Media Monitoring Africa; Legal Resources Centre; Public Affairs Research Institute and Section 27.