By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) has released its second quarter disclosure report covering the period from 1 of July to 30 September 2023.
This is the tenth report since the Party Funding Act came into effect, requiring political parties to disclose their funding.
According to the Political Party Funding Act, parties are required to disclose all donations above R100,000.
Of the total declaration sum of R41 093 473.53 for the second quarter, the Democratic Alliance (DA) drew R36 388 690.78 – a massive 89%.
The total amount included late donations totalling R778 309.
That late donations declaration figure consisted of three separate donations received by the African National Congress (ANC) during the fourth quarter of the previous 2022/23 fiscal year as well as the first quarter of the current 2023/24 fiscal year.
Six political parties made donation declarations, including Action SA, the ANC, the DA, the IFP, the PA and the Freedom Front Plus.
The ANC did not declare any donation for the second quarter.
Breakdown of party donations for Q2:
- DA – R36,388,690
- Action SA – R3,458,000
- ANC – R778,309
- PA – R225,000
- VF Plus – R131,000
- IFP – R112,473
The largest donation of R15 million to the DA was received from an entity known as Fynbos Kapitaal Proprietary Limited which is linked to billionaire Capitec founder Michiel le Roux.
The second largest donation of R10 million came from Mary Slack, daughter of Harry Oppenheimer.
Other large donations were also declared by the party, including Martin Moshal (R5 million), D Barnes (R3 million) and an international entity known as the Danish Liberal Democracy Programme (R1.5 million).
The rest of the donations of individual amounts below the R1 million mark were received in a combination of monetary and in-kind donations from a number of individuals and one regular international donor, totalling just over R1.5 million.
Meanwhile Civic organisation Defend Our Democracy on Thursday officially launched its Election Monitor Campaign which aims to mobilise civic organisations across the country to collectively observe the 2024 general elections.
Speaking at the briefing in Parktown, executive director of Defend our Democracy Zaakirah Vadi said while the campaign aims to pronounce on the integrity of elections, this doesn’t detract from the role of the Independent Electoral Commission.
The campaign is expected to last until just after the elections to allow for observation of the counting process.
Vadi presented on the campaign plans and objectives: “It will include observation of elections, on the day of elections itself, as well as the counting process that follows thereafter. It’s centred around 2024, the technological systems that will be developed through this process, the reporting processes, the experiences, and the civil society network that develops around this campaign.”
She says this being the first year of the campaign, there may be limitations with mobilising volunteers through other civic organisations in some rural areas.
“For 2024, we think that our priority provinces are Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, and that is based on the number of organisations in those provinces that we’ve previously worked with.”
The Independent Electoral Commission only accredits organisations for observer missions.