Fahmida Choonara | fchoonara@radioislam.co.za
17 May 2023 | 17:30 CAT
2 min read

Photo Credit: MyVoteCounts

Lobby group, My Vote Counts says private funding of political parties does not provide adequate transparency for party funding as a guard against corruption.

Sheilan Clark from My Vote Count spoke to Radio Islam International to discuss the concerns and amendments the organisation felt were required.

The Political Party Funding Act came into being on 1^st April 2021, requiring all parties to manage private donations received and to disclose all private donations above R100 000 received every quarter to the IEC.

However, Clark says the legislation needs some fine-tuning to be more effective as loopholes exist.

There should be no minimum disclosure threshold, as it defeats the purpose of the Act. She added there was no evidence to suggest that only R100 000 could be used to influence. Any amount can be enough to buy someone over, being a detriment to voters.

The maximum donation limit of R15-million to a party or individual in a financial year is too high as parties rely on major donors like mining companies to fund them. Furthermore, there is no recourse for a family donating, which could mean a single family using different bank accounts to fund a party, thereby exceeding the threshold.

Speaking on the ANC pushing for the rule to be made laxer, Clark says this would also defeat the purpose of the legislation as it ensures transparency and accountability. She added that voters with access to the information know the party’s interests.

Asked if the legislation would make the process administratively intensive, she responded that the Party’s Funding Act requires parties to keep records that must be declared with the IEC.

The case was filed with the High Court on 16^th May 2023. There are eighteen respondents, including the President, and they have approximately 15 days to respond. The case should be heard by January 2024. However, Clark mentioned a clause in the case that they wanted to be in their favour before the elections.

Listen to the full interview with Sulaimaan Ravat on Sabahul Muslim here