Following a conference organised by the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) (and funded by the Hanns Seidel Foundation) held at Leriba Lodge, Pretoria, at which speakers from all sectors of South African experience, as well as international experts, shared views on the subject of “Where Money Meets Politics: Exploring policy options to regulate the influence of private funders on South African politics”, the Civil Society Campaign Group comprising Institute of Security of Studies (ISS), IDASA, the Black Sash Trust and the South African Council of Churches issued the following statement:

Introduction

1. We note that momentum for reform is growing. The presence and participation of all of the main political parties at the conference confirms that the need for regulation of private party funding has now captured the attention of all the political parties.

2. There is now, we believe, an emerging consensus that there is no alternative but to adopt a more transparent approach, otherwise the current absence of regulation threatens to undermine other efforts to defeat corruption and promote accountability.

3. We now look forward to seeing the parties finalise their positions so that the parliamentary debate can process legislation without further delay.

What Donations should be covered?

4. It is accepted that party politics in a democracy require private funding as well as public funding. Rules designed to regulate the private funding should be intended to promote both multi-party democracy as well as accountability.

5. We welcome the approach taken by the Chairperson of the SA Human Rights Commission, Jody Kollapen, who argued that greater openness was not just justified under the constitution, but that there is a constitutional imperative to ensure that there is a level playing field so that the wealthy can not purchase influence in secret and thus eclipse the views and access of the poor. Like him, we see the question of party political funding as a human rights issue, concerning political equality and socio-economic justice.

6. There is a clear consensus: regulation should cover as wide a definition of donation as possible, in order to close as many potential loopholes as possible.

7. Thus, regulation requiring disclosure should cover not just cash donations but also payments-in-kind, loans and special discounts, for example. Attention should be paid to the question of more difficult issues such as voluntary donation of professional services.

8. In addition, the rules and laws relating to corporate accounting and reporting should be extended to require corporations, both domestic and multi-national, to make explicit disclosure of all donations to political parties. Furthermore, corporations should be required to supply details of these disclosures to the central regulating body (see below).

Level of Disclosure

9. A careful debate on the threshold that would trigger a requirement to disclose is necessary. There is consensus that the level should be set at an amount that balances the need for accountability with the need to promote multi-party democracy, recognizing that open disclosure requirements may inhibit donations to opposition parties.

10. There is an argument that, in this context, there should be a differential threshold, lower in the case of multi-national or foreign donations, and higher in the case of domestic donations.

Regulating Body and Sanctions and Enforcement

11. There is consensus that the Independent Electoral Commision (IEC) is the appropriate regulating and enforcement body, and that provision should be made to ensure that any increased responsibilities are matched by increased capacity and resources.

12. Clear, meaningful sanctions are necessary to promote compliance. Ideas include with-holding public funding and/or fines equivalent to the level of the private donation in relation to which the breach of regulation occurred.

Speakers at the Conference included: Jody Kollapen - Chairperson of the SA Human Rights Commission, Professor Tom Lodge, Dr. Chris Landsberg, Dr. Brigalia Bam - Chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission, Mohseen Moosa MP(ANC), Raenette Taljaard MP (DA), Peter Smith MP(IFP), Sheila Camerer MP(NNP), Bantu Holomisa MP (UDM), Mosebjane Malatsi (PAC). Award winning investigative journalist Justin Arenstein made a strong case for reform by detailing some of the instances where the funding of political parties may have been linked to corrupt relationships – he argued that transparency would be the only way to deal with speculative reports of corruption. International party finance experts from Ghana, the United Kingdom, Zambia and Germany shared their insights on the subject with the meeting.

For further details or comment, please contact:

Hennie van Vuuren, Senior Researcher: Anti-Corruption Strategies - ISS:
021 – 461 7211


Isobel Frye, Black Sash: 0723420464
Richard Calland, Idasa: 021 – 467 5644
Eddie Makue, SACC: 011 – 492 1380