Besides citizens’ declining trust, post-democratic South Africa has been rocked by many scandals, not least of which are those under the banner of State Capture. Central to the scandals of State Capture, and others, have been the misappropriation of state funds, corruption at all levels of government and fraud, to name a few. This may well be some of the contributing factors to the declining trust in South Africa. However, as unique as State Capture may have been, it has exposed an issue with democracy that is experienced the world over: the toxic relationship between money and politics. This is highlighted especially in political party funding where political parties have influential backers who, at the price of their steep donations, may be expecting a quid pro quo from said political party. This results in the political party becoming beholden to the donor and not the voter, as it should be. Click on the link below to download the pdf report.
