New law to enforce transparency in funding of political parties
POLITICAL parties registered with the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) will be forced to disclose all donations of more than R100 000 a year as the new law aimed at ensuring transparency in private funding starts kicking in.
The commission has invited comments on the draft political party funding regulation, which states that parties must report all the money they receive, or else their officials would face fines of up to R500 000 or two years in jail for failing to comply. ”All donations received by political parties which exceed the disclosure threshold must be reported to the commission,” the draft regulation stated.
The IEC will be required to publish a list of all donations received by political parties on a quarterly basis.
Other key provisions include the requirement on political parties and donors to make separate disclosures of all donations in excess of the declaration threshold of R100 000 a year.
The regulation also states that all financial assistance received by registered political parties must be reported.
It also warns that party officials furnishing the commission with false information will be guilty of an offence and be liable upon conviction to a fine or imprisonment ranging from R50 000 to R500 000, up to two years’ imprisonment or both.
In January, President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Political Party Funding Act into law. The IEC will have the right to reject funding of political parties through the proceeds of unlawful activity, money from an organ of state, state-owned entity or foreign government or agency.
This week, the IEC said the implementation plan for the act would be phased in over a three-year period in line with the availability of funding and its capacity.
The provision to establish the represented political party fund as well as the multiparty democracy fund, direct funding of political parties and disclosure of such funding, and the duties of political parties will be implemented first.
The commission is developing an electronic online submission system to facilitate easy and efficient declarations by political parties.
When Ramaphosa signed the act into law, the ANC, DA and UDM welcomed it, with the governing party describing it as a means to ensure transparency and protect the state against regime-change activities funded by hostile external forces.
Lobby group My Vote Counts described it as regrettable that Ramaphosa promulgated the law in January making it unlikely to have any impact on the upcoming elections in May.
Meanwhile, SA Local Government Association chief executive Xolile George has appealed to municipalities to relax their outdoor advertising by-laws to accommodate parties in the run-up to the elections.