• The National Council of Provinces’ (NCOP) Select Committee on Security and Justice has adopted the Electoral Amendment Matters Bill.
  • This paves the way for the bill to adopted by the full House of the NCOP.
  • Essentially, the bill seeks to change regulations that affect the funding of political parties.

Hard-won gains in the declaration of private party funding are set to be undone with the stroke of a pen as the governing ANC seemingly yearns for the days where its finances remained under wraps.

This, two months before a watershed general election.

In 2018, advocates for openness and transparency celebrated when the Political Party Funding Act (PPFA) was passed, ushering in a new era of transparency around who funds South Africa’s main political parties.

But all that looks set to be eroded as the Electoral Matters Amendment Bill looks likely be passed by the National Council of Provinces (NCOP).

Should President Cyril Ramaphosa sign the bill into law, the head of state would have the sole discretion to determine the funding thresholds and the rules that govern the funding of political parties.

READ | Donations to political parties top R59m ahead of general elections, says IEC

According to the bill’s preamble, it seeks to amend the PPFA, 2018 to provide for the regulation of the private and public funding of independent candidates and independent representatives.

But opposition parties believe it would effectively do away with the PPFA and allow political parties to receive more state money and escape any sort of accountability.

On Wednesday, the Select Committee on Security and Justice adopted a report on the bill which will now be sent to the full House of the NCOP.

Given the ANC’s overwhelming majority, and the speed at which the bill was pushed through, it appears it will ease through the NCOP before the end of March.

The NCOP’s passing is the last hurdle before the law lands on Ramaphosa’s desk.

A political researcher at MyVoteCounts, Boikanyo Moloto, wrote to the committee expressing concerns about the bill.

“If passed in its current form, amendments the bill make to the Political Party Funding Act will weaken transparency and accountability in our party funding legislation.

“While there is a legitimate need to amend certain pieces of legislation to bring independent candidates into the political fold, the attempts to fundamentally alter aspects of the PPFA are opportunistic and make it easier for all political parties to solicit private funding with less public scrutiny,” Moloto said.

The bill was intended to address consequential amendments to electoral legislation following the enactment of the Electoral Amendment Act that allows independent candidates to participate in national and provincial elections.

However, Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi introduced a bill that also tinkered with party funding beyond merely bringing it in line with independents’ participation.

Opposition parties were in uproar at the change in the allocation formula for political party funding from the state through the Represented Political Parties Fund.

The Constitution requires the funds to be disbursed proportionally and equitably.

Initially, the funds were allocated with a 90% proportional and 10% equitable split – meaning 10% of the funds were divided equally among all represented parties and the remaining 90% proportionally according to the party’s representation.

The bill was intended to address consequential amendments to electoral legislation following the enactment of the Electoral Amendment Act that allows independent candidates to participate in national and provincial elections.

However, Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi introduced a bill that also tinkered with party funding beyond merely bringing it in line with independents’ participation.

Opposition parties were in uproar at the change in the allocation formula for political party funding from the state through the Represented Political Parties Fund.

The Constitution requires the funds to be disbursed proportionally and equitably.

Initially, the funds were allocated with a 90% proportional and 10% equitable split – meaning 10% of the funds were divided equally among all represented parties and the remaining 90% proportionally according to the party’s representation.

The PPFA, adopted in 2018, changed this formula to a two-thirds proportional and one-third equitable split.

This favours the ANC as the largest party.

Funders of SA’s parties:

Cumulatively, in the first two quarters of the 2023/24 financial year, more than R102 million was donated to political parties, according to My Vote Counts’ dashboard.

The DA received just over half of this – more than R59 million of total declared donations. The ANC got over R20.7 million (20.3%) and ActionSA – a party that is not represented in Parliament – bagged R19.6 million (19.2%).

The biggest chunk of the total donations received during this period came from companies linked to Capitec founder Michiel le Roux, with his Fynbos Ekwiteit making a R15 million donation to the DA in June and Fynbos Kapitaal making a similar donation the following month, totalling R30 million.

The second-biggest contributors were members of the Oppenheimer family, who donated more than R17 million. The DA received R10 million from Mary Slack in August and ActionSA received R7.2 million from Victoria Freudenheim in June.

The third-biggest contributor was the Batho Batho Trust, which gave R15 million to the ANC in April.

Both ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba and online gambling mogul Martin Moshal donated R8 million during this period. Mashaba donated on three occasions to the party he leads.

Moshal donated to three parties: R5 million to the DA in August, R2 million to Mmusi Maimane’s Build One SA in May, and R1 million to ActionSA in July.

The ANC’s investment front, Chancellor House, donated R5 million to the party in June, while the DA received a similar amount from a company called Main Street 1654 in May.

Political newcomers Rise Mzansi secured close to R17 million in funding less than 12 months after it was established.

During Wednesday’s meeting, the ANC was in full support of the bill.

While it will also benefit the DA, that party remains opposed it.

DA MP Rikus Badenhorst said their main overall objection to the two clauses was they were not relevant to amending the laws to include independents.

According to Badenhorst, the bill went against the tenets of the Constitution, and the change was purely to benefit the ANC.

“The DA proposes that the funding model currently used remains and that a proper investigation is done into party funding allocation before the laws are amended. The DA proposes to simply add the existing thresholds to the new clauses to ensure provisional precautions are taken,” he said.

In a letter to Ramaphosa earlier this month, UDM leader Bantu Holomisa added the ANC was abusing its majority to find more funds.

“Now that the ruling party has been fingered in the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture [the Zondo Commission] and they have been exposed for illicitly using state resources they want to go back to a legitimate source for funding and, it is acting in the most outrageous manner using its majority to bulldoze legislation through at the 11th hour.”