MVC welcomes signing of the Political Party Funding Bill
23 January 2019
President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Political Party Funding Bill into law. The signing of this Bill is a truly historic event in South Africa’s political history. When implemented it will drastically enhance the transparency, accountability and inclusiveness of our country’s political and electoral system.
Since 2012, My Vote Counts (MVC) has advocated for and consistently applied pressure on South African political parties, Parliament and the Presidency to enact legislation for the continuous and systematic disclosure of political parties’ private funding.
That the Bill has been signed during the Bosasa scandal and against the backdrop of the State Capture inquiry and the VBS bank saga seems rather apt. As we continue as a country to uncover the depths of such attacks on our political system, a piece of legislation such as this will serve as a vital element of the checks and balances needed to mitigate further corruption.
It is however regrettable that the signing of the Bill comes at a stage where it is likely to have no impact on the upcoming 2019 provincial and national elections. Last year, MVC requested that the Presidency sign by November 2018 in order to give the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) the stipulated period of six months to implement systems.