IEC: 12 political parties declare donations above prescribed threshold
This is according to the financial statements contained in the commission’s annual report for 2022/23 submitted to Parliament.
FILE: An IEC ballot box. Picture: Cindy Archillies/Eyewitness News
CAPE TOWN - The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said a total of 12 political parties declared donations above the prescribed threshold.
The donations came mostly from private donors including one Australian-based billionaire.
This is according to the financial statements contained in the commission’s annual report for 2022/23 submitted to Parliament.
The commission said for the year under review, the Represented Political Party Fund (RPPF) had a total of over R342 million available for distribution to represented political parties, with the African National Congress (ANC) receiving the lion’s share.
The Political Party Funding Act was developed and came into effect on 1 April 2021 and established the Represented Political Party Fund.
The act also established the Multi-Party Democracy Fund for funding represented parties from private sources.
Of the represented parties, the ANC declared millions, including a R10 million donation from Botho Botho Commercial Enterprise Pty Ltd.
During the second quarter of the year, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) declared R150,000 “in kind” donation from a business entity.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) meanwhile declared a R15 million donation from billionaire Martin Moshal during the second quarter of the year.
The IEC said the Multi-Party Democracy Fund (MPDF) also received contributions amounting to R2.5 million from Standard Bank during the last quarter of the financial year.
The commission said the ANC was the largest recipient of funds from the Represented Political Parties Fund at over R148 million during the year.