“Failing Today Doesn’t Cancel Tomorrow”: Gayton McKenzie’s Message to Matrics Who Didn’t Make It

“Failing Today Doesn’t Cancel Tomorrow”: Gayton McKenzie’s Message to Matrics Who Didn’t Make It

As matric results sink in across South Africa, emotions are running high. For every celebration photo and proud family post, there’s also heartbreak, disappointment and quiet fear about what comes next.

It’s into this space that Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie has stepped, not with statistics or policy talk, but with a reminder that failure at 18 does not define a lifetime.

In a candid Facebook post, McKenzie reached out directly to learners who did not pass matric last year, urging them not to see the setback as the end of the road.

A Story That Hits Close to Home

McKenzie shared a personal encounter with a friend who, by most measures, has “made it”. The man recently sold his construction business for what McKenzie described as an “obscene” amount of money and is planning his next decade of ventures.

The twist? That same businessman failed matric 30 years ago.

McKenzie used the story to drive home a message many young South Africans desperately need to hear: failing yesterday does not close tomorrow.

“Failing matric is not the end of the world,” he wrote, warning learners not to let disappointment push them toward gangs, crime or hopelessness. Instead, he encouraged them to treat the setback as a bump in the road, one that can become fuel rather than a full stop.

A Minister Who Doesn’t Fit the Mould

McKenzie’s message carries extra weight because of his own unconventional path. He is one of the few Cabinet ministers who openly acknowledges that he does not hold a post-matric academic qualification something that often becomes fodder for online debate.

He has previously shared that he was born at Pelenomi Hospital and attended Olympia Primary School and Heatherdale Secondary School in Bloemfontein, offering a grounded reminder of his roots.

While he jokes about having a “PhD”, “Passed High School with Difficulty” his career tells a more serious story. Over the years, McKenzie has built business interests across nightclubs, restaurants, hotels, logistics, transport, energy, mining and farming.

Social Media Reacts: Relief, Debate and Hope

Online, his post sparked mixed but passionate reactions. Some praised him for speaking honestly to young people at a vulnerable moment, saying the message felt real in a country where many successful people took non-traditional routes.

Others cautioned that while matric failure isn’t the end, education still matters a debate that resurfaces every January in South Africa. McKenzie’s supporters countered that his point wasn’t to dismiss schooling, but to challenge the idea that one exam result determines a person’s worth.

Success, Redefined

Last year, McKenzie shared what he called his “secret to success” and it had nothing to do with qualifications or money.

“Love people, be kind, love people,” he wrote at the time. “Thank me later in your life for this truth.”

For thousands of young South Africans staring at uncertain futures, that message, combined with his latest post offers something rare: permission to regroup, rethink and try again.

Because, as McKenzie reminds them, failing matric may hurt, but it doesn’t get to decide how the story ends.

{Source: The South African}

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