ANC wants R15m limit for individual donations to parties to be increased

CAPE TOWN - The African National Congress (ANC) wants the current R15 million limit for individual donations to political parties to be increased.

The party said running a big organisation has never been more expensive.

However, organisations like My Vote Counts argued that this could create a situation where a political party’s independence might be compromised by one single large donor.

The ANC made the call last week during public hearings on a motion regarding political party funding and the donations limit.

One of the main issues before the Home Affairs committee is the review of the R15 million annual limit on donations to a political party by a single individual.

Another issue is the R100,000 disclosure threshold for donations to parties and independent candidates.

The ANC’s head of policy, Fébé Potgieter-Gqubule, said the cost of running a political party needs to be taken into context.

“The upper limit of R15 million did not take into account what is required to run political parties with extensive networks of structures in every ward of the country.”

She added that more training and education also come at a cost.

“We had three ballots instead of two, so parties were expected to do voter education around that.”

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC)’s Sy Mamabolo noted the submission but indicated it was entirely up to the National Assembly to make the final decision.