Statement: R2K welcomes the implementation of the Political Party Funding Act!
22 January 2021
The Right2Know Campaign welcomes the approval of the Political Party Funding Act as a victory for transparency and the voters’ right to know. Today, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the legislation which was signed into law two years ago will come into operation on 1 April 2021.
The Act prohibits donations to parties by foreign governments or agencies, foreign persons or entities, organs of state or state-owned enterprises.
Parties may, however, receive funding from foreign entities for training, skills development or policy development. According to the Act, no member of a political party may receive a donation other than for political party purposes.
This is a long-overdue step towards a more transparent and accountable democracy, in which voters have basic information about who funds our political parties. The people of South Africa have a right to know who is bankrolling the political parties and candidates that seek their votes, and how those funds are spent.
The lack of transparency and regulation on private donations to political parties created a climate of secrecy and political inequality, which has allowed corruption to thrive, eroded public faith in the electoral system, and undermined the values of the Constitution.
We also congratulate our allied organisation, My Vote Counts who have campaigned tirelessly for an end to the secret deals between politicians and their donors. The Political Party Funding Act is the result of those efforts.
We are happy that political parties will have to start declaring their sources of funding before this year’s local government elections. This is a chance for every political party to take the people of South Africa into their confidence by disclosing their finances. We urge all South Africans to continue to demand access to information and transparency from political parties in the lead-up to the elections.
Issued by Busi Mtabane, Right2Know Communicator, 22 January 2021
