A businessman owed R40-million by the ANC is pressing ahead to seek a court order compelling the former liberation movement to pay up.
After filing the notice of motion about 10 days ago, the IEC has filed a notice to oppose after Eltel sole director Asif Casoojee initially asked the court to redirect IEC funds to ANC towards settling the debt.
READ: ANC dragged to court as creditor demands R40m from IEC allocations
Eltel had provided communication services to the ANC during its elections campaign towards the 2019 national and provincial elections.
Since then, the ANC has failed to pay him the initial R23m debt which has almost doubled due to interest accrued and other fees.
Casoojee has since filed a supplementary affidavit saying despite the IEC intention to oppose, the ANC cannot continue pleading poverty after last year alone it got a handsome
R350-million from the taxpayers via the IEC.
What the taxpayer has contributed to the ANC
“In terms of official, published statistics from the Electoral Commission’s 2025/2026 and 2026/2027 Party Funding Disclosures, the wealth flowing to the governing party is massive,” reads Casoojee’s supplementary affidavit.
“For the 2025/2026 financial cycle, out of the total statutory Represented Political Party Fund (RPPF) allocation distributed by the state, the [ANC] commanded the absolute lion’s share, absorbing over R350-million in direct public funding tranches.
“Under mandatory legislative disclosure records, the ANC has been flagged for non-compliant submissions totalling R15.27-million in the most recent 2026/2027 quarter alone, which follows tens of millions in private capital declarations across prior quarters from its own Batho Batho Trust and multi-million rand funding networks such as Chancellor House.”
The ANC has declared R230-million worth of donations since 2021, which makes its total income in the period more than R1-billion, including the public funding, since owing Casoojee in 2019.
The businessman says he has gone to court to stop the ANC from its tendency of refusing to pay up when dealing with emerging service providers and or contactors.
“Despite commanding such immense capital, the first respondent has displayed a pattern of exploiting honest businesses, extracting the benefit of the services it requires, and then abandoning its contractual obligations. This strategy mirrors the multi-million Rand grievances experienced by other corporate creditors, including Ezulweni Investments and the Sisonke Consortium,” Casoojee continues.
“The commercial destruction of Eltel is not an isolated billing dispute. It represents a calculated pattern of economic exploitation, where private capital and operational resources are extracted from businesses to run national campaigns, only to leave those suppliers financially devastated once the political objective is secured.
“The applicant has unearthed an unconscionable, repetitive cycle of destruction deployed against unsuspecting public suppliers, and this is a cycle that follows a calculated and fatal path.”
Paul Mashatile’s empty promises
Casoojee says he can no longer trust the ANC after its then treasurer-general Paul Mashatile made several empty promises to get the debt settled.
On June 30 2021, Mashatile, who is the third respondent in the lawsuit at Johannesburg high court, texted Casoojee: “I don’t even have money to pay salaries! No more donors! Will ask Mbaks (ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula) to assist you!”.
Nothing came of this promise.
READ: ANC head office Luthuli House staff salaries not paid, again
Instead, on the eve of the 2021 local government polls, Mashatile fired another excuse to Casoojee: “We don’t have money for digital messaging! We don’t have money for Election Day! I am meeting business people in Durban this evening, we might get assistance!”
Three days before Christmas of the same year, Mashatile was at it again: “Waiting for a guarantee for the bank. I am hoping it will be sorted by Friday. Then I will be able to give you firm commitment in writing how the debt will be paid!”.
Casoojee insists that he has had it with the unfulfilled promises and has placed his trust to the court to achieve justice and save his business from financial ruin inflicted by the ANC.
- Businessman Asif Casoojee is seeking a court order to compel the ANC to pay a R40-million debt owed since 2019 for communication services during the 2019 elections.
- The ANC has failed to pay the initial R23-million debt, which has almost doubled due to interest and fees, despite receiving over R350 million in public funding from the IEC in the 2025/2026 financial cycle.
- Casoojee alleges the ANC exploits honest businesses by benefiting from services without fulfilling contractual payment obligations, a pattern affecting other creditors like Ezulweni Investments and the Sisonke Consortium.
- The ANC has declared R230 million in donations since 2021, making its total income over R1 billion during the period it has owed Casoojee.
- Former ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile made several unfulfilled promises to settle the debt between 2021 and 2022, leading Casoojee to seek court intervention.
