ANC flush with cash again, says Gwen
● ANC treasurer-general Gwen Ramokgopa has spoken of how she’s been able to turn the ruling party’s finances around — by trimming its salary bill and raising more funds from the party’s donors and public representatives.
The ANC has of late struggled to pay its R18m monthly salary bill, at one time leaving staff in the lurch for two months in a row. This saw some staff losing their homes or cars — or having to plead with their creditors for a lifeline. The situation was especially dire in the years 2020 to 2022.
Ramokgopa told the Sunday Times her party had turned a corner and was now able to ensure that its staff were paid, its debt was serviced and new revenue streams were flowing into its coffers.
“Since we came in, we have prioritised the overheads. So it’s not only [about] staff receiving salaries, but also [about our] paying municipal rates and making sure we reduce the huge debt [we] inherited. And [it is] also [about having money] to support campaigns,” she said.
But how did she achieve such a feat if her predecessor, current deputy president Paul Mashatile, couldn’t do it?
Ramokgopa shared some of the interventions she has made since taking office.
These include going large on fundraising dinners, having eight chartered accountants assist the party with managing its finances, collecting membership fees, and increasing levies on party deployees in the government.
But, most importantly, Ramokgopa has introduced a funding mechanism that will see not only ANC members making donations to the party but also rank-and-file supporters who merely voted for it in previous elections.
“We’ve had to depend on our membership fees and levies for those who are deployed in government. Every time the NEC meets, we contribute and collect subscriptions. We have to tighten up more and increase our own contributions to our organisation,” she said.
“The ANC has always been able to fund its campaigns, [except for] maybe 2019, because of the timing. We’re engaging very passionately with our members and supporters. The ANC received 10-million votes in 2019, so we are looking at broad-base contributions for this [next year’s] election from members and supporters.”
Asked how this would work, Ramokgopa said: “Watch this space. We’re looking to broaden the base of fundraising that will add to the traditional base.”
Despite the challenges brought by the introduction of the Political Party Funding Act (PPFA), which limits how much an individual may donate to political parties each year, among other issues, the ANC under Ramokgopa is stabilising its finances.
She told the Sunday Times she believed the party should have planned better for the introduction of the PPFA, and gave an example of a company that used to donate R50m a year to the ANC now being limited to giving it just R15m. “So, yes, there was an impact,” she said.
“I think we could have planned better in anticipation of that impact and looked closer at the other streams of funding. That’s what we’ve been doing in the six months or so since we came into office.”
Though it looks like the party’s financial challenges are history, Ramokgopa remains cautious. “I must confess that the challenges at the time were daunting. It required a collective effort, but we can most definitely say we are now on the road to recovery. But we’re not out of the woods.
“We have been able to reduce debt, including [tax owed] to Sars, and we have paid off overdrafts that were long outstanding. But what really pleases my heart is that we’ve been able to pay our staff every month in full.”