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SA’s party funding system ‘dangerous’

South Africa’s political party funding model is too dangerous as it could lead to donors shaping government policy and corrupting its tender decisions, ANC treasurer-general Mathews Phosa says. “We cannot have politics without money… But money is also dangerous. Rich parties can buy votes and forget to talk to citizens. Donors can shape government policy and attempt to corrupt and pervert its procurement decisions,” Phosa said during an ANC fundraising workshop on Thursday.

Last month, academic and critic Dr Mamphela Ramphele said the system was “the major source of corruption. It’s very important that there should be a fiscal system to fund parties, but it should be done in a transparent way. People should be able to vote without regard of what they stand to gain. “This is very critical for multiparty democracy,” she said. Concerns about the funding system have been growing because of the controversy around the ANC’s arms deal, the withdrawal of corruption charges against President Jacob Zuma and his relationship with the Gupta family.

On Thursday, Phosa cautioned that SA was moving towards “dangerous territory” because the private funding of political parties was unregulated. “The most complex challenges we face concern the role of party-owned or party-linked companies. At one extreme, such companies can be investment vehicles owned and controlled by the party itself. At the other extreme, such a company might be a privately owned business, run by a dedicated ANC cadre, whose board feels an obligation to donate a share of honestly accrued profits to the movement. A number of other relationships lie between these two extremes.”

The ANC has been plagued by deepening divisions and factionalism, some of it arising from the procurement system and dodgy tender dealings. “Personal or factional war chests can fuel internal divisions, fund vote buying in internal elections, and accelerate factionalism… Ultimately, money can corrupt a political system and, in the long term, destroy its political parties,” Phosa warned.

Source: iol.co.za

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SA’s party funding system ‘dangerous’

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