POLITICS - President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to raise the threshold for political parties to seek private funding without declaring it is being challenged – he must explain his motivation for the decision.
My Vote Counts has written to the president asking him to explain his decision to double the disclosure threshold from R100 000 to R200 000 and the upper limit cap from R15 million to R30 million.
The organisation last month appealed the ruling by the Western Cape High Court in Cape Town, which dismissed its previous application to have the Political Party Funding Act (PFA) declared unconstitutional.
Ramaphosa asked to justify raising party funding limits
It approached both the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) and the Constitutional Court with the hope that, if the Concourt accepted the leave to appeal, the SCA application would automatically fall off. Also, if the Concourt declined a direct appeal to the court, the SCA would handle it.
On 18 August, Ramaphosa issued a proclamation to implement the increase, supported by the majority of political parties in parliament that endorsed it. However, the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, African Transformation Movement, Al Jama-ah and Build One South Africa opposed it.
In its original application to the high court in February, My Vote Counts argued the Act was unconstitutional because it permits donations below R100 000 to go undisclosed and exempts natural persons from the obligation to disclose.
The law failed to regulate or limit the cumulative donations from related entities or persons, and allows excessive individual donations up to R15 million per year.
The body’s legal team was concerned these flaws rendered the Act inconsistent with the principle of transparency, openness and accountability contained in the constitution and was therefore unconstitutional.
My Vote Counts questions Ramaphosa’s motives
In 2023, My Vote Counts initiated legal proceedings to challenge the constitutionality of the Act. The case was heard by a full bench of the high court in February and judgment was delivered in August, with the application being dismissed.
Now, the body has also asked the president to provide reasons for doubling the disclosure threshold and annual limit.
It also wrote separately to the president, requesting “written reasons for, and the complete record that informed the proclamation and his determination for new thresholds” in the Act.
“We requested a response by 20 October,” Joel Bregman, My Vote Counts project lead on money in politics, said.
Transparency concerns
It also made a formal Promotion of Access to Information Act request. It wants the complete record, including all documents, that informed the president’s proclamation.
Ramaphosa’s changes to the Act came into effect from 18 August, the day the proclamation was published in the Government Gazette.
Article: Caxton publication, The Citizen
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