10th set of party funding disclosures shows that the law needs teeth
1 December 2023
We congratulate the Electoral Commission (IEC) for publishing the quarterly disclosures for the period 1 July to 30 September 2023 in terms of the Political Party Funding Act (PPFA). The publication includes all disclosed private donations to political parties in the period to the value of R100,000 or more.
Prohibited donations
We commend the IEC for calling out the VF+. The party seems to have run afoul of the PPFA on two separate legs regarding a donation from the Taipei Liaison Office; (1) the donation was from a foreign government, and (2) the purpose of the donation was not in line with the law. The PPFA stipulates that donations received from foreign entities must be for skills development, training or policy development. The recognition from the IEC that the donation was prohibited under the law is an important step for enforcement. Despite this it also highlights the need for the Act to be more robust and for it to have more teeth to clamp down on such prohibited donations.
This is the first time that the IEC has noted a donation as having been received from a ‘prohibited donor’, and ‘for a purpose not consistent with the requirements of the law’. Whether this was intentional disregard for the law, an oversight, or poor understanding of its workings, it is imperative that all parties comply with the law. The IEC has noted it will take remedial action against the party.
Who is donating?
We previously have raised concerns about the lack of sufficient information in the disclosures that make it difficult to ascertain which entity has donated to a political party. This set of disclosures highlights a related issue – how do we know which individual is donating.
In this period, nine individuals have donated to the Democratic Alliance totaling over R19 million. However, the disclosure only shows the initial and surname of each of the nine donors, making it almost impossible to identify them. While we may be able to reliably guess who these donors are based on previous donations, the principle remains that clear and unambiguous identifying information should be made available.
Without clear information that can identify an individual this will continue to remain an issue. These types of disclosures undermine the essence of transparency, which is central to the PPFA. This can be easily addressed, as individual donors are obliged to disclose clear identifying information, such as their identity number.
Consistent with the Act’s aims to enhance transparency and the public’s ability to exercise political rights, published disclosures must include information that allows the public to identify who is actually funding our politics.
For more information on the quarterly disclosures please visit our online tool Whose Vote Counts.
Issued by Lelethu Masanggwana on behalf of My Vote Counts, 1 December 2023
