Political party funding signed into law

President Cyril Ramaphosa has finally signed into law a new Bill aimed at regulating the funding of political parties. It was approved by parliament in June 2018.

The Political Party Funding Bill, when it becomes law on April 1, will enable South Africans to know who funds their political parties. The law is long overdue. It’s remarkable that South Africa didn’t regulate political party funding after the first democratic elections 25 years ago. The lack of action made the nation unique among democracies.

Funding needs to be regulated because the electorate needs to know where funds are coming from.

All 10 of the largest democracies in the world have disclosure laws. And the US bans foreign funding in elections.

South Africa’s law enshrines these basic principles. But there’s concern around the timing of the Bill as it won’t be operational before the country’s hotly contested elections due in May. Getting the administrative mechanisms in place for its implementation is likely to take longer.

For civil society activists who have struggled for transparency in party funding, the Bill cannot come into effect soon enough.

The obligation to disclose funders should also make it easier for civil society to keep political parties on their toes when it comes to their finances.

The Bill requires parties to disclose all donations over R100 000 from any donor. It also prohibits donations from foreign governments or organs of state.

The Bill also has provisions that specifically aim to curb corruption. For example, it states that a party may not accept a donation “that it knows or ought reasonably to have known, or suspected, originates from the proceeds of crime and must report that knowledge or suspicion to the Electoral Commission”.

It also stipulates that “no person or entity may deliver a donation to a member of a political party other than for party political purposes” and that a member of a political party may only receive such a donation “on behalf of the party”.

Noncompliance with the new law can lead to a fine or a jail sentence of up to five years.

The Bill provides for a multiparty democracy fund to be established and managed by the electoral commission, to receive anonymous donations. These would then be distributed to parties represented in parliament and in the provincial legislatures, according to a formula partly based on the relative size of each party’s representation.

Mia Swart is research director at Human Sciences Research Council

Republished from The Conversation