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Daily Maverick
5 days ago
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Assessing the Political Funding Act — does it strengthen SA's sovereignty and democracy?
Since 1 April 2021, the Political Funding Act, 2018, regulates the funding of political parties and independent representatives, or 'political representatives' for convenience. Not only are the private and public sources of political funds regulated, but also their amounts and uses. The act draws sustenance from the Constitution, specifically section 236. To 'enhance multiparty democracy' the Constitution anticipates legislation that 'must provide for the funding of political parties participating in national and provincial legislatures on an equitable and proportional basis'. Drawing on the Founding Provisions in Chapter Two of the Constitution, the preamble to the Political Funding Act advances the aims of deepening multiparty democracy, protecting our sovereignty and promoting equity, proportionality and transparency. This article is about sovereignty. Four years after its inception, it is time to ask whether the Political Funding Act, and the way it is practised, bolsters sovereignty. Is there room for improvement, gaps to be filled, safeguards to be fortified, and enforcement to be effective? First, an outline of the scheme of the act. Two funds The act establishes two funds: the Political Representatives Fund provides for the funding of qualifying political representatives from money appropriated by an act of Parliament. Amounts recovered from irregular expenditure, unspent monies and interest earned on investments supplement the Political Representatives Fund. The Multi-Party Democracy Fund is established with the aim of funding represented political representatives from private sources within and outside South Africa. Any monies recovered from irregular expenditure, unspent monies and interest earned on investments are included in this fund. The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) distributes both funds according to a formula that aims to achieve both equity and proportionality. Permitted use The purpose for which political representatives may use the funds are explicit. In short, the funds are for campaigning, to build democracy, promote represented political parties and representatives, encourage citizens to participate in political life, connect people with organs of state, and generally comply with the Political Funding Act. Prohibited use Equally explicit is what the funds may not be used for. The funds cannot be used to pay remuneration or other benefits to political representatives in any of the three legislatures; nor may a person who receives remuneration from the state benefit. To fund any matter or event in breach of any code of ethics binding MPs and MECs is prohibited. So is using the funds to establish a business and defray the legal costs of internal party disputes. Prohibited donations Accepting donations from foreign governments and their agencies, organs of state and state-owned enterprises is prohibited, with a few exceptions. Donations from a person or entity to a political representative or candidate were capped at R15-million per annum. In 2025, Parliament voted to increase this limit to R30-million. The threshold for disclosing donations made to a political party and representative was set at above R100,000 per annum. But Parliament has voted to double this amount too. Donations above the threshold must be disclosed to the IEC. Concomitantly, an entity that exceeds the donation threshold must also disclose their donation to the IEC. In this way the IEC can verify the link between donor and donee. Accepting a donation while knowing or suspecting it to originate in crime, is an offence reportable to the IEC. To give a member of a political party or representative a donation and for a member to receive a donation other than on behalf of the party, is prohibited. Political representatives must keep bank accounts dedicated for receiving and reporting on all donations. Interconnected aims The summary outline above of the provisions of the Political Funding Act reveals a spider web of interconnecting protections and prohibitions that cumulatively seek to achieve the constitutional aims of sovereignty, equity, proportionality, transparency and deepening democracy. Tampering with, say, provisions relating to either the disclosure of funding or the funding limits, could undermine not only transparency, equity and proportionality, but also democracy and sovereignty. Sovereignty What is sovereignty? Like identity, sovereignty is multidimensional. At its most basic, sovereignty is characterised by power, authority, freedom and independence to make decisions on behalf of a nation state. These characteristics are partly derived from and fortified by law. Mostly, sovereignty is earned progressively through assertiveness and the exercise of might — economic, political, religious, cultural, etc. Cultivated, developed and maintained rather than conferred, the above characteristics of sovereignty fit the profiles of monarchies, dictatorships and democracies. For now, my interest is in representative democracies. Overlaying these characteristics may be variations between, say, parliamentary and constitutional sovereignty. Economic sovereignty would be a measure of the independence of a state to govern without international or foreign financial assistance and monopolistic private enterprises. Pluralist sovereignty signals that supreme political power vests not in the state alone, but is shared with and shifts among social, political, economic and religious groups. Cumulatively, multiple characteristics shape sovereignty to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the balance of forces at play at any given time. However, it is up to sovereign states to choose to emphasise one or more characteristic. Indeed, to assert their sovereignty in their own best interests. Or not. Thus, states opting for a constitutional, representative democracy — like South Africa — should jettison features of parliamentary sovereignty, but emphasise pluralist sovereignty. Economic and political sovereignty — how much a state borrows from, say, the International Monetary Fund, or permits foreign powers to fund political elections — would signify the extent to which that state chooses to risk its independence and freedom from foreign influences to make its own decisions. PFA markers of sovereignty Firstly, choosing to regulate political funding per se implies a declaration of sovereignty about elections for political office. It is an assertion of democracy. By establishing the Political Representatives Fund (PRF) and the Multi-Party Democracy Fund (MPDF), the state asserts the duty to fund political representatives. Secondly, sanitising elected representatives of unfair and unjustified influences exerted by underhand funding is but one way of ensuring that voters, and not illicit influencers, dominate the national discourse. The exception to the prohibition of donations from foreign governments and their agents is that they may donate a limited amount, currently set at R5-million, for training and skills development of a political representative or for policy development. By stipulating the sources of political funding and limiting the contributions from both foreign governments and a single donor to a political representative, the Political Funding Act seeks to curb and control the influence of both foreign and wealthy private donors on domestic politics. Thirdly, prohibiting organs of state and state-owned enterprises from contributing to the Multi-Party Democracy Fund imports into the system all the efficiencies of receiving funding from a single state source. It is also a way of preventing incumbent representatives and political parties and their apparatchiks from diverting funds budgeted for their departments towards the Multi-Party Democracy Fund. Fourthly, what political representatives may and may not use the Political Representatives Fund and the Multi-Party Democracy Fund for are aimed at fortifying representative democracy. For instance, funding is not meant to benefit political representatives personally. Using the funds to establish a business is illegal. This limitation must, by extension, also apply to funding an already established business. Fifthly, the purpose of political funding prioritises the people, not just voters and their representatives. The provision of state funding is intended to 'ensure continuous and vital links between the people and organs of state'. Convincing people that state institutions exist to deliver their livelihood rights to food, water, health, housing, education and security is campaigning. Campaigning is for garnering support for both the campaigner's constituency and the democratic state. Therefore, political representatives are funded and promoted not only as an end in themselves, but also as a means of strengthening their effectiveness as elected representatives of the people they seek to govern. Maximising the people's participation in society cultivates legitimacy and nurtures sovereignty. Political representatives who find themselves ungirded by popular support jeopardise not only their legitimacy, but also the sovereignty of the state. Sixthly, the aim of entrusting the administration of political funding to the IEC is to assure the integrity of the funding project. The mere whiff of bias or corruption would contaminate the IEC's integrity. Undoubtedly, this would be so if, say, the IEC accepts money for the Multi-Party Democracy Fund knowing that it is the proceeds of crime. Correctly calculating and paying the qualifying political representatives their portions from the Political Representatives Fund and the Multi-Party Democracy Fund, reporting to Parliament and securing clean audits from the Auditor-General, are all markers pointing to the IEC doing its job well. Empowering the IEC to enforce the Political Funding Act and submit to audits by the Auditor-General are the belts and braces to ensure compliance with the act by all. Is our sovereignty safe? My assessment of sovereignty through the political funding lens touches on compliance; underhand funding, low polls and weak enforcement. Compliance Consistent with the constitutional mandate that legislation must regulate funding for national and provincial elections, the IEC has established a unit dedicated to administering the political funding project. Parliament has yet to consider whether it should regulate political funding of local government elections. If the IEC receives illicit funding or misallocates funds, the rules are so precise that illegal transactions would be easily detected. Furthermore, receipts and allocations are made electronically, not as cash in brown paper bags. They generate an electronic trail. Illicit transactions would show up in the annual audits. Anyone aggrieved by an allocation may ask the Electoral Court on review or appeal to correct any decision of the IEC. Annual audits by the Auditor-General and quick corrective measures by the court would mitigate the risk to the integrity of the IEC. The IEC is a modern institution evolving in the technology-driven information age. To execute its constitutional mandate, it must be ever vigilant of its own limitations, advance its capabilities and remain responsive to a fast-changing, high risk financial environment. Building in self-correcting measures of constantly monitoring, measuring and innovating mitigates risks. If the IEC fails to self-correct, the Electoral Court could compel it to comply. In 2024, 14 out of 15 represented political parties reported on their donations received and spent. While such a high level of formal compliance is commendable, authenticating the amount of donations actually received in both cash and kind is challenging. Political representatives do not have similar internal self-correcting mechanisms as the IEC to safeguard against underhand funding. Underhand funding Superficially, a political party's reporting may look compliant. However, on comparing the information in the report with the reality, it appears in some instances that the amount of donations disclosed as received and spent do not match what seems to have been spent. Donations in kind tend to escape the reporting radar. Thus, a political representative could trigger an investigation if, e.g. it uses a posh sound system, busses in crowds, and distributes thousands of T-shirts and food hampers at a mass rally, the costs of all of which manifestly exceed the amount of the disclosed donations and expenses. Vote buying is an internationally prohibited transaction. The prospects of finding accounting records for prohibited transactions are remote. So too is funding from foreign governments and their agencies masquerading as nonaligned organisations. Exploiting gaps in the Political Funding Act subverts not only the letter and spirit of the law, but democracy itself. The minimum reporting threshold of above R100,000 is avoided by a donation of say, R99,000. If a donor makes several payments of R99,000, they need not appear in the reporting to the IEC. However, scrutiny of the financial statements would expose the political representatives to an investigation. Similarly, equity, fairness and the rule prohibiting donations above R15-million from a single person or entity could be subverted when, say, members of the same family, or the CEO of an entity and the entity itself, each donate the maximum allowed to a political representative. While these donations are legal, they could erode the purpose of the Political Funding Act to curb undue influence exerted by the elite. Low polls The greatest risk to sovereignty is the failure or refusal of the people to participate in elections. Whether as people standing for elections, volunteers campaigning for democracy and voters supporting their preferred representatives, their non-participation, irrespective of the reasons, would be the death of democracy. Plummeting polls are clear evidence of the people's disillusionment. Disillusionment would follow those political representatives who misuse the funding or fail to convince the people of the benevolence, competence and capacity of state institutions to deliver their livelihood rights to food, water, health, housing, education and security. Unless elections offer well-meaning, capable political representation as options, disillusionment in the state would ultimately erode its legitimacy. Research by the Human Sciences Research Council found 'a sense of hopelessness and despondency with the country's democracy'. The council exposes the link between disillusioned voters and low polls. From the height of 64% in 1994, the Voter Satisfaction with Democracy Survey shows a drop to 25% in 2024. Unlike say, Italy, South African law does not set a minimum threshold of votes for a valid election. If such a threshold existed, and was not achieved, the elections would have to be rerun. Enforcement Enforcement of the Political Funding Act rests with the IEC. It has powers to monitor compliance and investigate complaints. If there is a failure to disclose information, the IEC can apply to the Electoral Court to compel compliance. However, to perform its Political Funding Act functions optimally, it is not enough for the IEC to establish a unit dedicated to administering political funding. The sources of funding for vote buying and other subversive transactions require extensive investigation to gather evidence to enable the IEC to enforce the act. Mere suspicion does not ground winnable cases in court. Simultaneously, the IEC cannot compromise its integrity, impartiality and independence as a service provider responsible for administering political funding. Ultimately, it is the IEC that must decide whether the funding of political representatives resulted in inclusive, free and fair elections. Therefore, the IEC's investigative functions must be bolstered with forensic capacity for it to be an effective enforcer of Political Funding Act violations. Underhand transactions require criminal investigations aimed at prosecuting offenders. Units in the police, security and prosecutorial services dedicated to electoral crimes would facilitate prosecutions. The record of a successful conviction should be allowed as prima facie proof of a Political Funding Act violation. Possibly, this would dispense with the IEC duplicating an investigation. Whistleblowers are indispensable for monitoring compliance with the Political Funding Act. They must be protected when they report underhand transactions. They have direct evidence that is required for presenting winnable cases in court. Donors should be urged to contribute to the Multi-Party Democracy Fund. This would enable equitable and proportional distribution of funding. Furthermore, it would avert suspicion of underhand funding and undue influence. While low polls could singularly frustrate democracy, political funding is not the sole cause of plummeting polls. What those other causes are leaves little to the imagination. Ultimately, if most people refuse to participate in elections, sovereignty would be scorched on the pyre of democracy. DM
IOL News
08-07-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Meet the candidates shortlisted for the IEC: Insights into their backgrounds
Academic records and historical background of the candidates shortlisted to fill the vacancies for three commissioners of the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) have been published. Image: IOL The Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) has published the academic and historical background of the candidates shortlisted to fill the vacancies for three commissioners of the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). This move follows calls from civil society for a transparent nomination process, crucial for public trust and engagement in the electoral system. The calls were made by civil society organisations, such as Corruption Watch and My Vote Counts, which believe that a lack of transparency hampered the meaningful participation and commentary, and deprived the public of the chance to conduct proper due diligence on appointees who will represent their interests. The public and legal bodies have until tomorrow (July 9) to submit their comments on the nominations. 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Next Stay Close ✕ The tenures of the current chairperson, Mosotho Moepya, and commissioners, Dr Nomsa Masuku and Judge Dhaya Pillay, are expected to end on November 1. The three were appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in November 2018. Chief Justice Mandisa Maya, along with Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka, as well as the SA Human Rights Commission and the Commission for Gender Equality, drove the process of nominations, and a shortlist of 12 candidates was released in June. The list includes Moepya and Pillay. Other candidates are Advocate Geraldine Chaplog-Louw, Advocate Richard Sizane, Dr Robert Martin, Dr Rajendran Govendor, Justice Mjabuliseni Madondo, Granville Abrahams, Nkosikhule Nyembezi, Jacqueline Liberty, Joyce Palesa, and Sibongile Sigodi. Chaplog-Louw She has 27 years of experience at the senior management levels of the IEC. She has been involved in every national and provincial election, as well as local elections, since 1994. Her current responsibilities are in the area of governance and oversight. Chaplog-Louw holds various academic qualifications spanning competencies in accounting, financial management, economics, philosophy, law, and corporate governance. Sizane He is the former chairperson of the Public Service Commission, who served from 2015 until January 2022. He was also appointed as an ex officio commissioner of the Presidential Remuneration Review Commission. Sizane, a former lecturer in Constitutional law, also served on the Justice, Constitutional Affairs, and Public Administration Portfolio Committees of the National Assembly and was a member of the Constitutional Assembly. He also served as a deputy director-general of the then National Department of Provincial and Local Government, as well as the director-general of the KwaZulu-Natal provincial administration. Sizane was appointed as the chairperson of the Electoral Reform Consultation Panel in May 2024, with the primary function of considering and proposing possible reforms to the national and provincial electoral systems. Martin He has over 20 years of executive and senior management experience in higher education, as well as most areas of strategic and general management in both private and public sectors. He holds a PhD in Entrepreneurship and was the deputy vice-chancellor at the University of Venda. Govender He holds a string of academic and professional qualifications, including a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, as well as a Post Doctoral Research Fellowship from Columbia University in New York, where he developed a leadership programme for 11 African countries. He has over four decades of experience spanning education, cultural affairs, social cohesion advocacy, and community leadership. Govender is currently a commissioner at the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious, and Linguistic Communities (CRL Rights Commission). Madondo He served as a public prosecutor, commissioner at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), and the Deputy Judge President of the KwaZulu-Natal division of the High Court. Madondo also served as an acting justice of the Constitutional Court. Abrahams He has been with the IEC for 27 years, culminating in his role as general manager of electoral operations. He was also the founding employee of the IEC in the Western Cape in 1998, where he played a vital role in establishing electoral infrastructure and operations. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Western Cape and has completed executive training in strategic leadership, digital transformation, and artificial intelligence from institutions such as the University of Pretoria and the University of Cape Town. Nyembezi He is a policy analyst, a researcher, and a human rights activist, with no party-political profile. He has served as co-chairperson of the National Coordinating Forum and has also helped facilitate inputs from various communities and individuals in the Moerane Commission of Inquiry investigating political killings in KZN. Liberty She has extensive parliamentary experience at a senior administrative level, developing policies and training manuals for members and staff. Pitso Pitso served as deputy manager of electoral matters for the IEC in KZN, and she was responsible for coordinating electoral operations, training, and political party liaison. Her journey began in 1994 with the interim IEC. Segodi She served as head of legal and executive services in the Presidency in February 2007. She also worked as the manager of legal services at the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in 2004. The interviews are expected to be held on July 21 and 22, 2025.
Eyewitness News
20-06-2025
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
Symposium thrashes out solutions to strengthening political funding law
CAPE TOWN -The influence of donor funding on the country's political landscape is one of the public concerns under discussion at a symposium on political funding underway in Durban. The symposium aims to put forward proposals to Parliament on how to strengthen the political funding law that is still under regular contestation from civil society groups. Just last month, Parliament decided to double the annual limit for receiving private funding to R30 million a year. READ: Godongwana thinks political parties should be wholly funded from national fiscus As the oversight body for the declaration of donor funding, the vice chairperson Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), Janet Love, said ahead of next year's local government elections, concerns have been raised that the Political Party Funding Act does not cover parties that only contest at local level. Seventy percent of respondents in a Human Sciences Research Council study said they were worried about the transactional nature of politics and capture by the elite who fund political parties. Love said the income of political parties and not their expenditure, has until now dominated the discourse on political funding. "The expenditure in campaigns, which has a more immediate effect on enabling a level playing field on the one hand and a more important impact on election outcomes is not the focus at the present." Love said despite political parties being required to submit regular reports on their funding sources, there are shortcomings in monitoring and investigating compliance as well as enforcement of the law.
IOL News
26-05-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
The IEC's journey towards e-voting in South Africa
Last Thursday, the Electoral Commission of South Africa in KwaZulu-Natal hosted a stakeholder session with academia on e-voting. Image: Electoral Commission of South Africa/ Facebook The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has decided to try e-voting again, and it is now in the policy-making stage. IEC senior manager in the office of the CEO, Dr Victor Shale, said the commission not only seeks to deliver on the procedural aspect of elections, but it also seeks to deliver on the substantive value of elections. Therefore, the commission tries to be at the forefront of innovation. 'We want to make sure that elections add value to democracy,' Shale said. Where is the IEC now regarding e-voting? Shale said that having undertaken significant work since 2013, the IEC is now in the policy-making phase. He said that policy begins when identifying an issue. 'Whether we like it or not, digital technology in elections is inevitable. We are using digital technology in elections, in one way or the other,' Shale said. He said they have done research and continue to do research. They also read and familiarise themselves with comparative studies throughout the globe. They now know what is there. Shale explained that because they are a public institution, a policy development process ought to be comprehensive and thoroughly consolidated. He said that from last Thursday's stakeholder session with the academia on e-voting, they will be able to identify policy options, followed by the policy adoption, where they will need to clearly define the structure, systems and regulations pertaining to e-voting. 'So we are in a process, making very steady progress towards a desired goal,' Shale said. He added that in policy-making, you have to consistently evaluate the performance of adopted policy systems and structures. Shale said these are some of the considerations they have: Legislative review Public education Infrastructure development Training Piloting Shale clarified that they have been working on e-voting since 2013, however, it is not something you can put together and do. 'You take time, you test systems, you make sure that everything is working,' Shale said. What next? Shale said the commission continues public consultations and public dialogues, which have been happening since March. This phase is expected to end by September. He said that following consultations, the resulting outputs will be reviewed. Shale said that the commission anticipates that by March 2026, it will be in a position to draft a green paper. This will be followed by formal legislative processes until it becomes a policy, maybe then causing electoral reform in terms of amending the Electoral Act.
The Citizen
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
My Vote Counts asks for extension and transparency in IEC appointments
My Vote Counts believes the notice and deadline for the IEC vacancies are too short. Chiawelo residents register to vote at Hitekani Primary School in Soweto, 19 November 2023, on the first day of the Electoral Commission of South Africa's (IEC) voter registration weekend. Picture: Nigel Sibanda / The Citizen Civil society watchdog, My Vote Counts, has questioned the short notice given by the Office of the Chief Justice to call for nominations for the filling of vacancies for three commissioners of the Electoral Commission of South Africa. Transparency and more time needed for IEC appointments My Vote Counts has asked for the process to be transparent and for sufficient notice and publicity to be given. It also wants an extension of the notice to enable a proper nomination process, including sufficient time for public scrutiny of the candidates to fulfil the transparency requirement. The Chief Justice chairs the panel that makes the commissioners' appointments. Other members of the panel are the chairpersons of the South African Human Rights Commission and the Commission for Gender Equality, and the Public Protector. The Office of the Chief Justice only issued a general notice inviting nominations of candidates to be appointed to the commission on Thursday last week, with a deadline of Friday. The issue was only gazetted on 15 April, but no publicity was given to the matter until last Thursday's General Notice. Although the posts to be filled are not specified in the notice, save for a judge who would serve, it is understood that the vacancies were meant to fill positions of commission chair Mosotho Moepya and commissioners Dr Nomsa Masuku and Judge Dhaya Pillay, whose terms will expire on 1 November. ALSO READ: 'Can you imagine our system being hacked': MPs sceptical of IEC's e-voting proposal IEC vacancies The IEC's deputy chief executive for outreach, Mawethu Mosery, confirmed that the commission had three vacancies – one for a judge and the other two for ordinary citizens. He would not say whether the three would be leaving, except to say they were also eligible for a second term. Mosery said the IEC has five commissioners, two of whom are on their second and last terms of office. With the terms for the remaining three commissioners expiring, the process to fill the vacancies has to kick off. This meant the commissioners could be reappointed for a second term but the process is open to any eligible person. My Vote Counts wants deadline extended Many in the civil society movement believe the notice and deadline were too short. The Cape-based My Vote Counts on Wednesday wrote to Chief Justice Mandisa Maya requesting an extension to the deadline. In the letter signed by My Vote Counts' executive director Minhaj Jeenah and the organisation's political system's lead Boikanyo Moloto, Maya was asked to extend the deadline. ALSO READ: ActionSA opposes My Vote Counts' party funding case – Here's why It added that the information on the notice did not seem to have been publicised widely, with no media statement or social media communication from Maya's office or the IEC. The NGO is also concerned that there has been almost no coverage of the nomination process in the media. Only a single article was published online on 16 April, followed by an advisory on the judges' website on 8 May. 'The IEC plays a crucial role in our democracy, the Commission's independence and impartiality lie at the heart of the public trust it enjoys. Trust cannot be maintained in the absence of transparency and openness. As such, it is important that competent and impartial people are appointed,' Boikanyo said in the letter. My Vote Counts also suggested that the appointment process should be widely publicised so that the public can scrutinise, monitor and engage with it. 'Given the fact that we are six months away from the conclusion of the three commissioners' term, we are requesting an extension of the deadline for the submission of nominations of electoral commissioners to 15 June. Further to this, that your office widely publicises the process, creates public awareness, thus allowing for meaningful participation,' Boikanyo said. ALSO READ: IEC official accused of stealing election ballot boxes sees discharge application rejected In early 2022, the NGO and others managed to force former Chief Justice Raymond Zondo to extend the deadline after the process was similarly given a short deadline. At the time, although some publicity was given in the gazette and two Sunday newspapers, Zondo agreed to extend the deadline from 18 February to 25 February 2022.
