Pandemonium in the run-up to the elections

EVENTS leading up to the local government elections of 2021 have been, for lack of a better word, chaotic.

Justice Dikgang Moseneke's recommendations to postpone the elections to early next year due to fears of election fairness amid Covid-19, and the subsequent Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) bid to have the elections postponed as per Moseneke's recommendations, threw a spanner in the works.

We now know that the elections will take place on November 1 this year, following the Constitutional Court's dismissal of the IEC's bid.

The pandemonium in the run-up to the local government elections (LGE) will certainly play a part post-elections. It will be interesting to see how political parties respond to election results – questions of the freedom and fairness of the elections will certainly dominate post-election commentary.

In the run-up to the elections some political parties have been found wanting – none more so than the ANC. Earlier this month, it was revealed that the ANC had failed to register LGE candidates in 93 municipalities across the country.

On September 3, ANC Treasurer-General Paul Mashatile blamed the party's “very long and tedious” process of electing branch candidates as the main cause of registration failures.

A closer look, however, paints a different picture.

The ANC's electoral registration blunder is not inconsequential, but a sign of a party left in tatters by long-standing institutional weaknesses. A huge problem the ANC is facing is a lack of funding. Recently, Mashatile confirmed that the ANC was facing financial troubles and that the Top Six of the party were considering 50% staff salary reductions.

The ANC's financial crisis has prevented the party from achieving some of its most basic functions. Unpaid staff mandated to register electoral candidates have downed tools, demanding the party pay salaries.

Concerningly, party leaders seem to not have any idea how to respond to the financial crisis.

The ANC's call for crowdfunding on August 28 seems like a red herring. Spokesperson Pule Mabe has told the media that the party has been “inundated” by members and supporters who are keen to donate money.

What must be asked is who exactly are some of the party's big funders and, even more importantly, what interests do they represent?

One thing that is almost certain is that the financial woes of the ANC open up the party for private capture.

Another likelihood is that the ANC may look at state agencies for funding – this is certainly not a new phenomenon within the ANC.

A key lesson learnt from the State Capture Commission is that the ANC's funding woes were central in driving maladministration and corruption.

When Jessie Duarte spoke to the media of the ANC's financial troubles recently, she said that the recently enacted Political Party Funding Act (PPFA), which instructs political parties to disclose funders who donate over a certain threshold, had resulted in many ANC funders “pulling out”.

In his testimony to the State Capture Commission, President Ramaphosa supported the PPFA by stating that the act created transparency and accountability around party funding, and that it would prove important in ensuring that the party was not led in the shadows.

Ramaphosa's stance, however, may be merely lip service, particularly considering criticism around the funding of his very own #CR17 campaign.

Irrespective of the ANC's posture towards the PPFA, as an expression of democratic accountability and transparency the act is a good piece of legislation that needs to be bolstered and defended to the hilt. What needs to be done is to strengthen the implementation of the act, particularly leading up to the elections.

Strengthening the act will require effective parliamentary oversight, civil society playing its part as a “watchdog”, and active journalism raising funding red flags.