Electoral Commission issues party funding’s first quarter disclosure report

2 September 2024

The Electoral Commission hereby publishes the first quarter political funding disclosure report for the financial year 2024/25. The report covers the period of 1 April to 30 June 2024. Most notably, it is the first report since the inauguration of the seventh parliament and administration following the successful hosting of free and fair 2024 national and provincial elections on 29 May 2024.

Key Developments Surrounding the First Quarter Declaration Report 

This declaration report is issued against a legislative environment wherein the Party Funding Act was amended. The Electoral Matters Amendment Act 14 of 2024 did not provide disclosure thresholds for political parties and non-aligned political candidates.

In specific terms, the new provisions which were signed into law on 08 May 2024 amended Regulations 7(1) and 9 of Schedule 2 of the Act. Regulation 7(1) provided that the President of the Republic determines the amount which triggers the requirement for public disclosure of donations. This presidential determination will be predicated on the resolution of the National Assembly. 
Regarding Regulation 9, it similarly provided that the President must determine the maximum amount of donation a party may receive in a financial year. Again, this determination must be based on the resolution of the National Assembly.  
The net effect of these amendments was that both the upper limit of donations and the disclosure threshold were repealed and therefore no longer extant.

Western Cape High Court Matter

It is important, however, to highlight that as at the date of this publication, the lacuna regarding the disclosure limits and thresholds have been removed because of the Western Cape High Court judgement of 16 August 2024 which provided that the pre-amended thresholds are to be utilized pending the determination of new thresholds.  

NPLC Intervention

On the other hand, and in the interest of transparency in the financial affairs of political participants convened a special meeting of the National Party Liaison Committee (NPLC) on 31 July 2024. The NPLC unanimously agreed that represented political parties would continue to declare their donations in accordance with the pre-amendment limits and thresholds. This was the case even though strictly speaking there were no legally determined thresholds for disclosure.

The Commission wishes to laud political parties who made declaration in the reporting period even though there was no legal basis to do so. This act is indicative of these parties’ commitment to transparency in the management of their financial affairs. This can only bode well for electoral democracy in the country.

Furthermore, the Commission wishes to ask the National Assembly to expeditiously finalize its processes and take a resolution on the thresholds in order for the President to gazette so that the lacuna in the regulations can be ameliorated. 

Nearly R200 000 000 Declared

During this quarter, political parties declared a cumulative amount of nearly R200 000 000. The value of first quarter 2024/25 donation disclosure is comparable to the value of donations declared during the fourth quarter of the past financial year.

Totalling a colossal R189 950 829, this is by far the highest value of donations across all years and quarters since the introduction of the Political Funding Act, as amended. Once again, a positive correlation between the value of donations declared and the election season are demonstrated.

Parties that Declared Donations          

A total of fourteen (14) political parties declared donations during the first quarter of the year. These are:
1.    ActionSA – R13 186 000
2.    African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) – R240 000
3.    African National Congress (ANC) – R26 015 313 
4.    Build One South Africa (BOSA) – R12 877 709
5.    Change Starts Now – R150 000
6.    Democratic Alliance (DA) – R56 601 039
7.    Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) – R515 313
8.    GOOD – R600 000
9.    Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) – R38 340 000
10.    Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa (ISANCO) – R100 000
11.    Patriotic Alliance (PA) – R6 649 900
12.    Rise Mzansi – R33 895 000
13.    South African Rainbow Alliance (SARA) – R400 000
14.    uMkhonto Wesizwe Party (MKP) – R380 555

Sources of donations

While there were few first-time donors during the reporting quarter, a significant number of donors were repeat donors. Furthermore, many of the repeat donors made significant donations across several political parties, targeting mainly new or recently established political parties. 

ActionSA (R13 186 000)

ActionSA, a newly represented political party which has contested the national and provincial elections for the first time in 2024, declared donations valued at R13 186 000. As reported previously, ActionSA is a regular party on the list of parties that receive and declare direct donations on a quarterly basis. 

All of ActionSA’s donations were of a monetary nature. The party’s two largest donations were received from the party’s regular donors, Martin Moshal and Victoria Freudenheim, comprising R7 500 000 and R5 000 000, respectively.

The rest of the donations were received from the party leader, Herman Mashaba, valued at R186 000; and entities named Leap Serve Holdings (Pty) Ltd and Moxitone Investments (Pty) Ltd, valued at R250 000 each.

African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) (R240 000)

The ACDP reported total declarable donations valued at R240 000. All of the donations were received in monetary terms and were from companies associated with South Africa’s mining magnate, Patrice Motsepe. 

Two separate amounts valued at R120 000 each were received from African Rainbow Minerals (Pty) Ltd and Harmony Gold Mining Company (Pty) Ltd, respectively. Both these companies have previously made direct donations to this party and other represented parties indiscriminately, particularly during election periods.

African National Congress (ANC) (R26 015 313)

The ANC declared a total amount of R26 015 313 received in direct donations during the reporting period. Of this total, an amount of R515 313 was in-kind donation received from one of the major cellular phone companies in the country, Mobile Technology Networks (Pty) Ltd (MTN). The in-kind donation was made in the form of sim cards, mobile data, minutes and routers for electioneering purposes.

The rest of the donations, valued at R25 500 000, were received in monetary terms from a variety of donors, some of whom are repeat and regular donors to the party. These are the Batho Batho Trust, which donated R15 000 000, the United Manganese of Kalahari (UMK) with a donation of R5 000 000, Chancellor House Trust, also with a donation of R5 000 000 as well as Discovery Central Services with a donation of R500 000.

Build One South Africa (BOSA) (R12 877 709)

Build One South Africa’s (BOSA) declared total donations valued at R12 877 709. All of BOSA’s declared donations were received in monetary terms, save for a donation valued at R127 709 received from a German foundation known as Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) NPC. KAS’ donation was an in-kind donation made in the form of payment for accommodation, meals, conference fees, flights and ground transport for a workshop organised to support training in electoral processes, electoral law and regulations as well as election observation.

Monetary donations were received from two regular donors to a variety of parties in the names of Martin Paul Moshal and Mary Slack. Martin Paul Moshal made two separate donations totaling R11 500 000. These were R7 500 000 and R4 000 000 donated in April and May 2024, respectively. Mary Slack donated R1 000 000.
The last monetary donation was received from The Douw Steyn Family Trust valued at R250 000. 

Change Starts Now (CSN) (R150 000)

Change Starts Now (CSN) reported a monetary donation of R150 000 received from the party founder and leader, William Rodger Jardine. The donation was received on 25 May 2024 despite the party having already announced in March of the same year that it would not be contesting the 2024 national and provincial elections.

Democratic Alliance (DA) (R56 601 039)

For the second quarter in a row, the Democratic Alliance (DA) declared the highest of all donations declared by political parties. In total, a combination of monetary and in-kind donations valued at R56 601 039 was reported by the party.

Two separate donations totalling R8 601 039 were in-kind. These were received from an entity called Voices of South Africa Foundation NPC, which has links with one of the directors of Fynbos Ekwiteit (a regular donor to the DA), Johan Petrus du Pré le Roux. The first donation of R2 384 163 was received in April 2024 and the second one of R6 216 877 was received very shortly before elections in May 2024. 

In addition to the in-kind donations, several monetary donations valued at R48 000 000 were declared by the DA. Two separate donations of R15 000 000 were received from Fynbos Ekwiteit and Fynbos Kapitaal in April 2024. Additional donation of R15 000 000 was received from an individual and repeat donor to the party named Jonathan Oppenheimer, also in April 2024.

Two other donations of R2 500 000 and R500 000 were received from SAFDEV SSDC (Pty) Ltd and Discovery Central Services, respectively. The former is a company linked to Hendrik Francois Bekker, a director of Valumax Projects (Pty) Ltd, which from time to time makes donations to political parties itself.

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) (R515 313)

Only one in-kind donation valued at R515 313 was declared by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). The donation was received from a major cellular phone company, Mobile Technology Networks (Pty) Ltd (MTN), and it was received in the form of sim cards, mobile data, minutes and routers for electioneering purposes.

GOOD (R600 000)

GOOD declared two monetary donations valued at R600 000, one of which was a late declaration. This was a donation valued at R100 000 received in February 2024 from an individual named Winston Brittow. 
The other donation was valued at R500 000 received from an entity named “We Are the People”, a voluntary association established to, among others, mobilise citizens to continuously participate in democratic governance and elections, according to its constitution. 

We Are the People, a voluntary association, should not be confused with another entity going by an almost similar name called “WeThePeopleSA”.

Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) (R38 340 000)

The IFP declared the second highest donation after the DA, valued at R38 340 000. The donation was received from five different individuals and entities, all of which are repeat and regular donors to different political parties on the South African political landscape. 

All in monetary terms, the individual donations were received from Jonathan Oppenheimer valued at R15 000 000, Nicholas Frank Oppenheimer, also to the tune of R15 000 00, African Rainbow Minerals (Pty) Ltd to the value of R420 000, Harmony Gold Mining Company (Pty) Ltd valued at R420 000 and Martin Moshal to the tune of R7 500 000.

Independent South African National Civic Organisation (ISANCO) (R100 000)

ISANCO, an unrepresented political party, received one monetary donation valued R100 000. The donation was made by an entity named Main Street 1564, owned by Anthony Charles Ball who is a regular donor to political parties in South Africa. The entity is also a regular donor to different political parties in the country.

It is worth indicating that the donation in question was reported by the donor rather than the recipient (ISANCO).  The Commission was unable to secure a dual disclosure from the party. The Commission will follow this up with the party with the view to enforce full compliance.

Patriotic Alliance (PA) (R6 649 900)

Patriotic Alliance (PA) declared a total of 8 donations valued at R6 649 900 for the reporting period. All the donations were of a monetary nature. 

An entity named ZAR Empire Holdings (Pty) Ltd, which is owned by one of the party’s leaders, Gayton McKenzie, made the largest donation to the party valued at R5 100 000. This amount is composed of multiple donations made during the months of May and June 2024, ranging from R200 000 to R4 000 000.

Another entity named Valumax Projects (Pty) Ltd (owned by Hendrik Francois Bekker who, as remarked above, is also a director of SAFDEV SSDC which donated to the DA in this quarter) donated R1 000 000. Furthermore, Delicate Slate Mining (Pty) Ltd donated R250 000 whilst the party leader, Gayton McKenzie, donated R299 900 in his private capacity.

Rise Mzansi (R33 895 000)

Rise Mzansi declared the third highest donation for the quarter valued at R33 895 000. All the donations were of a monetary nature and were received from five different entities and individuals.

“We Are The People”, a repeat donor to the same party having donated a maximum R15 000 000 to the party in the fourth quarter of the 2023/24 financial year, made another maximum donation of R15 000 000 in the first quarter of 2024/25 financial year.

 Another R15 000 000 was received from Rebecca Oppenheimer who is a regular donor to different political parties in the country.
Three other donations were received from The Tempyr Trust valued at R3 300 000, Zungu Family Trust valued at R320 000 and an individual named Craig Butters valued at R275 000.

The Tempyr Trust is a foreign entity headquartered in Luxembourg. The donation from this entity was used to fund programmes designed to train, upskill, and capacitate party volunteers and agents, including overall voter education. Thus, the use of this foreign funding in is line with the provisions of the Act.

South African Rainbow Alliance (SARA) (R400 000)

The South African Rainbow Alliance (SARA) made its first ever declaration. The party declared a total of R400 000 received from an entity named TMBH (Pty) Ltd. 

The donation was, however, received in March 2024, making it a late declaration which should have been disclosed during the fourth quarter of the 2023/24 financial year.

uMkhonto Wesizwe Party (MKP) (R380 555)

uMkhonto Wesizwe Party (MKP) made its first declaration valued at R380 555. This was a monetary donation received from an entity named the South African Policy Education Initiative, a not-for-profit organisation registered with the Department of Social Development in March 2024.

Foreign Donations

A total of R3 127 709 in foreign donations was declared in the reporting period. This comprised of donations made by two different entities, namely the Konrad Adenaeur Stiftung (KAS) NPC and The Tempyr Trust. 

One of the foreign donations was an in-kind donation. This was declared by BOSA and received from the German foundation, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) valued at R127 709. The other foreign donation, made in monetary terms, was by The Tempyr Trust totalling R3 300 000.

Both these foreign donations complied with the legislative prescripts in that none of the donors exceeded the regulated R5 000 000 per foreign donor per party in a financial year, and the funds were utilised for purposes and functions regulated in law.
Multi-Party Democracy Fund (MPDF)

The Multi-Party Democracy Fund (MPDF) received one contribution. This was a contribution of R25 000 000 made by Exxaro Resources Limited in early May 2024 and was reported on in the previous report published in the same month. In line with prescripts, this contribution was disbursed to represented parties at the start of the second quarter in July 2024.
The Commission reiterates its gratitude to Exxaro and implores other corporates to follow its lauded example of contributing to fortifying multi-party democracy in the country.

Issued by Kate Bapela on behalf of IEC, 2 September 2024