Political party funding bill key to ending capture

THE saga surrounding President Cyril Ramaphosa over a R500 000 donation his ANC presidency campaign received underscores the importance of transparency in party funding.

Ramaphosa, who has rightfully come under fire for giving contradictory statements to Parliament over the donation from controversial facilities management company Bosasa, is yet to sign into law the Political Party Funding Bill. The bill provides for the establishment of two funds for represented parties, disclosure of donations and prohibition of certain donations made directly to parties.

It prohibits state institutions from making donations, as well as receiving foreign funding.

The bill also provides that no person or entity may deliver a donation to a member of a party, or that members can receive a donation on behalf of a party.

The parties will be required to declare donations of up to R15m a year, and disclose donations starting from R100 000 in a financial year.

This piece of legislation will go a long way in thwarting the capture of the state by business people.

As the Zondo Commission unravels the depth of state capture, we ought to remember that business people capture the state for their narrow interests through donating cash to political parties in return for state contracts and influence over the policy direction of the country. This is a global phenomenon that cannot only be reduced to the controversial Gupta family.

Year in, year out we hear how business people pump money into conferences of political parties, including the ANC and the DA, with the aim of controlling political offices and state institutions for their selfish ends. It is this money that leads to political parties giving us corrupt, rogue leaders of society.

We need transparency in party funding so that businesses are stopped from usurping the people’s democratic power and corrupting the state for narrow interests that have led to state capture, a phenomenon that is robbing the poor and has allowed our country to be hijacked.

The state should be used as an instrument for the betterment of the citizens of this country, not a vehicle for self-enrichment.

It will do us well as a nation if Ramaphosa signs into law the Political Party Funding Bill.