Fund probe overdue

THEGreater Cape Town Civic Alliance (GCTCA) commends the organisation, My Vote Counts, for its bold and important approach to the Constitutional Court to make the matter of donations to political parties fully transparent. This is long overdue. There has been grumbling civil society suspicion that generous gestures can be coupled with a grace and favour agenda.

A clear ruling from Concourt will do much to address this problem. Ideally such a decision from the highest court in the land will be accompanied by historical supportive evidence showing why the verdict is so necessary. This detail will empower civil society organisations to direct their vigilance effectively. It is essential to unpack voluntary contributions as these are not always in cash, but can take the form of services and equipment.

In this way our democracy can grow with ordinary people recommending where they would like to see funding spent in the interests of community building, environmental custodianship and sustainable development.

Within such a social dialogue, donors will quickly see where their help will make a real and needed difference and the politicians, as civil servants, should be happy to facilitate the process of enacting the will of their constituencies.

No one should object to a reasonable amount being retained to ensure party administration as long it’s disclosed.

We are happy to see that in their preliminary reactions to the initiative of My Vote Counts, political parties have cautiously welcomed the court challenge. May the outcome serve the nation well. Len Swimmer Chairman: GCTCA Grassy Park