Parly’s Home Affairs committee proposes doubling threshold of funding for political parties
The committee noted that the current limit for donations of R15 million a year, and the R100,000 threshold for declaring donations, decided upon in 2018, were not based on any empirical study.
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CAPE TOWN - After several months of discussions, Parliament’s Home Affairs committee has settled on a proposal to double to R30 million a year the amount of money political parties and independents can receive from private donors.
It’s also proposing doubling the threshold for declaring those donations to R200,000.
The committee has been forced by the high court to set new limits after the previous administration removed the amounts set in 2018, before 2024’s national and provincial elections.
The Home Affairs committee said following public consultations and advice from Parliament’s budget office to consider inflation-linked increases in determining the upper limit for donations, and threshold for declaration, it’s finally hit the sweet spot.
The committee noted that the current limit for donations of R15 million a year, and the R100,000 threshold for declaring donations, decided upon in 2018, were not based on any empirical study.
ActionSA’s Lerato Ngobeni said the current limits have been prohibitive to new parties and to advancing democracy.
“Some political parties aren’t even able to get off the ground because of these thresholds and because the way the funding community in South Africa operates.”
But the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF)’s Thapelo Mogale called for bolder reform, saying the suggested limits are too low.
“Our proposal is that the minimum disclosure should be set at no less than R1 million and we set the upper limit at R100 million.”
The committee’s report will now go to the National Assembly for adoption.
The house will then have to pass a resolution for President Cyril Ramaphosa to amend the existing amounts accordingly.