The IEC needs to address the ANC and EFF’s alleged contravention of the Political Party Funding Act

18 November 2021

The DA notes the IEC report on donations declared by political parties for 2021 quarter 2 and we have  already engaged the IEC on the inadequacies of the report from quarter 1. In particular we have raised our concern that there is no report on which parties failed to submit reports and there is no report on zero returns. This needs to be resolved urgently. The report does not achieve its stated objective of ensuring transparency in the funding of political parties.

The ANC have declared a R15 million donation from the Chancellor House Trust. That is their fundraising entity clearly structured to contravene the Act. By receiving donations to the Trust, they conceal the source of their donations. When the Act was introduced, the DA took advice on whether such an arrangement would be acceptable to the IEC and their response was that such an arrangement would contravene the Act. The IEC is now contradicting that position. Given the IEC’s abysmal performance in the recent elections, a question must be raised on whether the IEC is acting independently and serving the people and not the ANC.

The EFF has not made any declaration. This is clearly in breach of the Political Party Funding Act. They have previously stated that they fund the party with statutory income. If this is true, they are acting illegally, given that statutory income cannot be spent on most political activity spending, such as funding election expenditure and donations of motor vehicles. This must have a funding source and it must be disclosed. Given the EFF’s obvious spending, it is impossible that they did not receive donations that should have been declared.

If the IEC does not up its game on ensuring that the implement the law as enacted, the DA will seriously consider withholding any future disclosures until the IEC does its job.

Issued by Dion George, DA Federal Finance Chairperson, 18 November 2021