Political parties in South Africa's governing grand coalition, the Government of National Unity, have declared donations to the tune of R162.1 million following the May elections.
In comparison, all political parties received over R189.9 million in donations.
On Friday, the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) released the first quarter political funding the first quarter political funding disclosure report for the financial year 2024/25.
According to the IEC, 14 parties have reported their donations for the first quarter of the financial year, covering April to June.
This period marked the highest quarterly total since the Political Party Funding Act was introduced in 2021.
The Democratic Alliance (DA), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), African National Congress (ANC), and Rise Mzansi received the lion’s share of the donations.
The DA led with R56 million, followed by the IFP with R38.8 million, RISE Mzansi with R33 million, and the ANC with R26 million.
This is the first report since the formation of the seventh parliament, which is led by multi party coalition called the GNU.
The officially declared donations showed that Jonathan Oppenheimer donated R15 million to the IFP, with an equal amount contributed by Nicky Oppenheimer, while Rise Mzansi received R15 million from Rebecca Oppenheimer.
For the first time, the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) has disclosed its donations, reporting a total of R380,555, the IEC said.
Other parties’ declarations are as follows:
- ActionSA – R13,186,000
- African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) – R240,000
- Build One South Africa (BOSA) – R12,877,709
- Change Starts Now – R150,000
- Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) – R515,313
- GOOD – R600,000
- Independent Civic Organisation of South Africa (ISANCO) – R100,000
- Patriotic Alliance (PA) – R6,649,900
- South African Rainbow Alliance (SARA) – R400,000
- uMkhonto WeSizwe Party (MKP) – R380,555
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) reported that the Multi-Party Democracy Fund (MPDF) received R25 million contribution from the mining company Exxaro.
This amount was distributed to the represented political parties at the beginning of the second quarter in July 2024.
For foreign donations, a total of R3,127,709 in foreign donations was declared in the reporting period.
“This comprised donations made by two different entities, namely the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) NPC and The Tempyr Trust,” the IEC said.
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