Resolutions of the ANC's 53rd National Conference, Mangaung, December 16-20 2012
9. FINANCE AND FUNDRAISING
Noting that:
1. The organization is entering its second phase of transition in the transformation of our society from a colonial apartheid past to a united, non - racial, non - sexist, democratic and prosperous South Africa, where more radical programmes will have to be implemented aimed at a total emancipation of the people of South Africa in an environment of scarce resources.
2. As an organization operating within a modern and dynamic society, we need to adapt our systems to be compatible with modern technologies that speed up processes and facilitate smooth management and accountability.
3. The organization must maintain financial prudence and discipline at all levels of organization all the time.
4. Progress made in the implementation of the 52nd National Conference as has been presented in the Treasurer-General's report to the 53rd National Conference. The financial report pointed out a number of strengths and weaknesses as well as threats that organization needs to pay attention to and opportunities that it may need to exploit in bettering its financial situation.
And believing that:
i. Resourcing the movement is fundamental to its ability to carry out the mission of the ANC, as articulated by the 52nd National Conference.
ii. Decisive steps have to be taken to secure the financial sustainability.
Therefore resolves:
1. Public funding should be expanded in order to promote and support democracy.
Such funding will be accompanied by full financial accountability and transparency by political parties, including regulation of private financing of political parties.
2. The ANC should participate in the economy, through various activities such as setting up business to provide goods and services as well as building an investment portfolio.
Regulation of party-linked investment vehicles should also be introduced to avoid conflict of interest which will result in compromising the integrity of the movement.
3. The membership fees should be increased from R12 to R20 for all members.
4. The NEC must implement the 52nd National Conference resolution on the allocation of full membership fee to branches as part of strengthening the capacity of branches to carry out their key tasks in communities (full allocation to be sub-divided amongst the province, regions and branches).
5. All Branches should promptly open bank accounts.The opening of bank accounts by branches should be concluded within 6 months, and special mechanisms should be put in place to deal with unsustainable accounts, including allowing a region to hold some kind of a trust account separate from any region's transaction account in which moneys of those branches can be kept and be released on request. This should go with rigorous training of branches on financial management and politics of money as proposed above.
6. In expediting the full implementation of the 52nd National Conference resolution on the full reallocation of membership fee, cost of collecting such fee and printing a membership card must be taken into consideration.
7. All ANC members who earn an income should be encouraged to contribute equitably to the movement by paying a levy, according to their ability.
8. Affirm the 52nd resolution on the allocation of levies to provinces. However, on implementation, provinces must be given option based on their concerns and their situation.
9. Foreign funding should be permitted but must be regulated to avoid abuse and 81 manipulation by external forces in the political affairs of our country.
10. The fundraising guidelines should emphasize that fundraising effort should be an ongoing responsibilities of every member in the leadership. However, there must be consultation with the Office of the Treasurer-General. Donations will be accepted in kind or financial contribution.
Mechanism will be instituted to eliminate abuse and corruption, such as keeping records, or a declaration book for donation in kind, depositing into the organization's account and limiting fund raising to those who are authorized.
11. The ANC should introduce financial management module in the political education program for ANC members who are charged with the responsibility to manage finances of the organisation.
12. The current investigation done by the ANC has indicated that the use of the Post Bank will be more affordable and the NEC should consider using the Post Bank unless the high bank charges with the current FNB is negotiated to a more competitive and acceptable level.
13. The NEC should act to improve the professionalism and effectiveness of ANC fundraising and financial management efforts, including by ensuring that those involved are properly orientated, trained and authorized. Those assigned to these tasks must be accountable to organizational structures, such as the Finance Committee and related forums, and their performance needs to be monitored.
14. Outstanding matters from the 52nd National Conference pertaining to Finance and fundraising should be concluded within the next 12 months. These include amongst others increase in allocation of political party funding from the public fiscus at national level and introduction of the provincial political party funding bill. To maximize the sharing of resources between regional offices, provincial leagues and caucus the alignment between the operations of the constitutional structures and constituency offices must be finalized.
15. Mechanisms to broaden the revenue base of the organization should be developed as a matter of urgency and be implemented. These include the adoption of the fundraising and investment policy guidelines within the first meeting of the finance and fund raising sub-committee for recommendation to NEC.
16. The composition of the Finance and Fundraising sub-committee should be reviewed. In particular:
i. In addition to NEC members serving on this structure, other ANC members with relevant expertise and knowledge should be coopted on to this structure to enhance its effectiveness. Provincial treasurers and treasurer-generals of the Leagues should also serve on the FFC.
ii. To improve its effectiveness, the subcommittee must develop an annual programme with specific milestones to be achieved within any given period of reporting. Due consideration must be made to all levels of the organization regarding this matter.
iii. Institutional capacity to support the work of the sub-committee should be built at the national, provincial and regional levels. The performance of this support function should be assessed from time to time, and should include responsibilities for specific areas of work (e.g. fundraising, investment portfolio and financial management and accounting systems).
17. Political decisions taken should be costed and financial implications be understood and budgeted for. The adoption of annual political programme must be linked to the available funding in order to avoid over commitments and accrual of debts and liabilities.
18. Induction on financial matters involves all members of the executive committee at all levels and the leagues to ensure collective responsibility for the finances and other resources of the organization. Training of treasurers of the ANC and its leagues must be in both hard core issues of financial management, on politics, ethics on good governance and in fundraising in general.
This training must be conducted within six months of the term of office of the current NEC.
19. The Veterans league to be provided with special financial and technical support, including training as they are at an early stage of their setting up of systems.
20. The ANC should ensure its financial reporting complies with Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (GAAP) 82
CRITICAL ISSUES REFERRED TO NEC FOR FURTHER HANDLING
The Financial report points out that the following costs are very high and unsustainable and have been referred to NEC for further handling since there are of administrative nature:
■ Salary and Wages;
■ Operational Costs; and
■ Travelling and Accommodation.
Other matters that the commission also referred to the Management for further handling:
■ Asset Management;
■ Expansion of Investment portfolio; and
■ Donor Fatigue.
Source: African National Congress. The full and original text of the resolutions can be accessed here - PDF.
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