News24 | Political parties can now receive almost R200k without declaring it

Former public service and administration minister Faith Muthambi proposed the increase two weeks ago.

POLITICS

The portfolio committee on home affairs has agreed to an ANC proposal that would allow political parties to receive larger donations without having to disclose them.

Under current legislation, the limit is R100 000. Political parties must declare any donation of this amount or more to the Electoral Commission of SA.

Previously, a single donor could only give R15 million per year to a party.

Former public service and administration minister Faith Muthambi made the proposal two weeks ago, after which the committee decided to first seek the input of the parliamentary budget office.

READ: ANC wants party funding declaration threshold doubled

Muthambi, now an influential ANC MP, argued at the time that the R100 000 limit was detrimental for parties that were "already too underfunded".

At last week's meeting, the parliamentary budget office reported that an inflation-adjusted increase in the limits would result in a new limit of R137 000 that parties would have to report, and that a single donor could give about R20 million per year to a party.

This recommendation was supported by DA MP Adrian Roos.

However, the ANC's Moleboheng Modise-Mpya said that, although the current Political Party Funding Act was created to promote democracy, the state could not currently fund parties and it therefore made sense to double the limits.

Lerato Ngobeni, an ActionSA MP, seconded the proposal.

Ngobeni said: 

After Modise-Mpya's proposal was given to the committee, no party spoke against it.

The National Assembly must now vote on it, after which President Cyril Ramaphosa must proclaim it before the changes can come into effect.