By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African National Congress (ANC) is calling for an increase in the budget allocation for political parties in Parliament.
The call comes against the backdrop of the governing party’s financial crunch, and the ANC battling to stay afloat.
The budget allocation, administered by the electoral commission (IEC), grew to about R342 million this year, following a 30% increase.
Presenting conference outcomes on the party’s finance and sustainability, NEC member Joe Maswanganyi reiterated the ANC’s dissatisfaction with the Political Party Funding Act in its current form.
“We know we have a Political Party Funding Act which has a lot of problems on its own. We are looking into reviewing that legislation because although it’s got good intentions of openness, it has unintended consequences, where our conventional funders are no longer funding us because of the new law.
“The state should increase its funding allocation, we know parties are funded by IEC, but we say Parliament must be able to fund parties.”
The ANC has been battling to pay staff salaries and other obligations, and has debt running into millions of rand.
It then proposed that the Political Party Funding Act be amended, requesting that the current R100 000 threshold be increased to R250 000 or R500 000 per year.
The governing party has also proposed that the amount of R15 million that a single individual or entity can donate be increased to between R50 million and R100 million.
The 2018 Act came into effect on 1 April 2021, and establishes the mechanism for funds to be provided to political parties represented in Parliament and provincial legislatures to undertake their work.
Maswanganyi said that even if the Act is never amended as requested by his party, the State should increase party funding.
“Parliament does also allocate money for parties through caucuses. It also funds constituency offices and various activities. And of course, that money is lesser compared to the IEC funding.
Coalitions
Other resolutions taken by conference delegates include the ANC developing a clear strategy to deal with coalitions, as the party prepares for a tough general election in 2024.
NEC member David Makhura, while reporting back on the party’s strategy and tactics resolutions, said the ANC would not simply go into coalitions “for the sack of remaining in power”.
He assessed some of the local government coalition negotiations as areas of “mistake”.
The party needed an overall strategy to deal with coalitions because it had been locked out of dozens of municipalities it previously governed following the 2021 municipal elections.
Land Reforms and Safety and Security
ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa closed the conference, which began on Thursday in Bloemfontein, at 2:00 on Friday morning.
He said the conference had reaffirmed the ANC’s commitment to renewal.
“This conference will be recalled as the moment when we stood as one and turned our backs on destructive processes that had eroded our movement. A moment where we all agreed that the renewal of the ANC is a key pillar of strengthening our organisation. We all acknowledged our shortcomings.
“We agreed on measures to accelerate land reform and have had discussions on safety and security. We have outlined steps to strengthen the borders further and policing in this country,” Ramaphosa said.