Johannesburg – President Cyril Ramaphosa’s proclamation of the Political Party Funding Act, which regulates public and private funding of political parties, was a major victory for our nascent democracy.
In terms of the new act, which will commence on April 1, political parties are required to disclose all donations above the disclosure threshold of R100 000 to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) every three months. The IEC must then report the disclosures to parliament. Donors are also required to disclose all donations above the disclosure threshold to the IEC within 30 days of making such donations.
The act also prohibits donations to parties by foreign governments or agencies, foreign persons or entities, organs of state or state-owned enterprises. This piece of legislation is a welcome intervention in a country like ours, where dirty money has given rise to state capture.
For decades, cash-flush unelected leaders have been using dirty money to hijack the state for their narrow business interests of lining up their pockets. Rich families and big businesses have for years been funding parties – the governing party and opposition – to push for the election of leaders and the implementation of policies that favour their establishments at the expense of the majority of people.
For years, we have been treated to the horrors of how a family from India, the Guptas, used its donations to the ANC and DA to capture the state, looted stateowned enterprises and hollowed out law-enforcement agencies.
The act is no panacea for the ills visited upon our democracy by dirty money. As in the past, some elements within the governing party will continue to use state institutions such as departments for election campaigns.
Now that the funding law is going to be in place, we are likely to experience brazen acts of the state machinery used to canvass for votes, including distribution of food parcels and blankets on the eve of elections. Another loophole that business and other interests will use to capture state institutions will be through funding of individuals contesting internal party elections.
Rented leaders are most likely to reward their funders with state contracts when elected to public office.
The ANC was, the last time I checked, in a process of reviewing its internal contest processes to ensure transparency. Opposition parties such as the DA and the EFF also have a duty to ensure that their leaders are not bought during internal elections.
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa. To Subscribe to Sunday World, click here.
Sunday World
