Who gets paid by whom?
Funders of a party should be known to the voters, writes William Gumede
POLITICAL parties must declare their private funders that pay their deposits to register as parties, as well as private funders of parties already in Parliament and provincial legislatures, and make public the donors who fund internal party leadership contests.
South Africa has seen the mushrooming of new political parties whose registering deposits are often paid by dodgy private donors. Gangsters, criminals and opportunists are increasingly privately not only funding established political parties which are already getting public funding, but also funding the start-up of new political parties and also establishing their own parties.
But political parties must also be compelled to declare which private donors fund internal leadership elections within parties. It is increasingly being alleged that leadership contests within the ANC itself are funded by private donors.
Parties are public institutions, and not private, because they oversee public institutions, they dispense of public money and act on behalf of citizens. Political parties when in government decide policy, appoint public servants and nominate elected representatives. Because of this, all money they receive must be made publicly available and easily accessible to citizens.
Lack of information about who the real funders – and by implication their political, policy and leadership agendas – are is unconstitutional because people will then vote for a party only
New political parties’ registering deposits are often paid by dodgy private donors
based on the rhetoric of party leaders and manifestos which do not reflect the real policy platforms of the party and often the behind-the-scenes real leaders of the party.
Parties that do not account prudently for public funds received should have their funding cut off until the next election cycle, and on condition they pay back the misused public funds.
Private companies that donate to political parties must be compelled to disclose the amount and the party donated to in their annual financial reports. Knowing who funds the creation of a party, and who funds an existing one, allows an ordinary voter to make a more informed choice when they choose who to vote for.
The Electoral Act of 1998 and the Public Funding of Represented Political Parties Act of 1997 are silent on private funding, beyond saying it is permitted. The Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) does not allow public access to political party funding.
There are no regulatory obligations on political parties to publicly disclose private funding sources, amounts and spending.
The Public Funding of Represented Political Parties Act (1997, 2(1)) as amended by the Constitutional Matters Amendment Act 2005, enacted the Represented Political Parties Fund to fund parties in Parliament and legislatures. In the 2017/2018 financial year, political parties received R150 million in public funding.
The fund is administered by the Chief Electoral Officer, under the auspices of the Independent Electoral Commission. The Independent Electoral Commission holds political parties to account for the use of the money.
Regulations to the act provides for how the public money to political parties should be accounted for. Parties must submit financial accounts showing how they used the funding to the Auditor-General for auditing, and the audited accounts should thereafter be submitted to Parliament. The IEC could appoint its own auditor to verify party spending account reports from the auditors of the political parties. The act gives the president the power to make changes to the regulations, in conjunction with the joint committee of the houses of Parliament.
On January 19, 2019, the National Council of Provinces passed the Electoral Laws Amendment Bill, which makes it illegal for any political party to use public funds in their election campaigns, apart from the money they are allocated each year under the auspices of the Public Funding of Represented Political Parties Act. The Electoral Laws Amendment Bill is now awaiting President Cyril Ramaphosa’s signing it into law.
In 2017, the Western Cape High Court in Cape Town ordered Parliament to amend the PAIA to allow for the disclosure of private political party funding. The court gave Parliament 18 months to amend PAIA so that political parties are compelled to disclose their private funding sources.
Civil society organisation My Vote Counts had approached the court, arguing that access to information about the private donors of a political party is crucial for a voter to make up his or her mind on whether to vote for a party or not.
William Gumede Democracy Works Foundation