FOLLOW THE MONEY
ANC treasurer-general Gwen Ramokgopa proposes amendments to Political Funding Act to keep wolves from door
The ANC has since 2018 experienced some serious financial problems which have landed the party in hot water with the Financial Sector Conduct Authority.
The ANC has had a number of plans in the pipeline to assist with its financial woes. Daily Maverick understands that the party’s treasurer- general Gwen Ramakgopa has now submitted proposals regarding the amendment of the Political Party Funding Act regulations.
The ANC’s National Working Committee (NWC) has discussed a way forward regarding the proposals and has given recommendations in that regard.
The plan is to mandate the ANC Parliamentary caucus to initiate and process a resolution in terms of Rule 119 of the Rules of the National Assembly. This will see the amendment of the regulations with regard to the thresholds and the limits relating to donations to political parties.
In terms of the Political Party Funding Act, which came into effect in April 2021, parties are required to disclose all donations of R100,000 or more. The Electoral Commission has been mandated to publish all the declarations made by the parties on a quarterly basis.
The Act has previously been referenced as one of the reasons why the ANC has been inconsistent with paying staff salaries.
The governing party has been unable to consistently pay salaries on time for the past two years, while the provident fund, unemployment insurance fund and medical aid contributions have not been paid since 2018.
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Read more in Daily Maverick: “The ANC, a tax evader? Massive debt, unpaid salaries, dry donation taps”
The ANC attempted a crowdfunding exercise which only presented a short-term remedy.
The Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) compelled the ANC to settle the estimated R85-million in outstanding and accumulated debt it owed its workers through a provident fund scheme.
The FSCA signed an enforceable undertaking with the ANC staff provident fund, requiring the party to pay R10-million into the fund each month until its accumulated contribution arrears were paid in full.
African National Congress (ANC) staff picket outside Albert Luthuli House on September 06, 2021, in Johannesburg. (Photo by Gallo Images/Sharon Seretlo)
In September 2022, it was reported that the governing party had failed to pay the landlords of its merchandise store in Gandhi Square, Johannesburg. The ANC was reported to be in breach of its lease agreement, which has accumulated monthly rentals of more than R3-million.
Read more in Daily Maverick: “ANC staff picket for the first time since unbanning in 1990 as state reforms bite at party finances”
The party’s 55th conference financial report painted a bleak picture of the ANC’s bank accounts. The report states that the party has R555-million worth of liabilities while ANC staff salaries bill continued to rise.
According to the report, salaries account for 60% of the party’s total expenditure and the party has recently had to take out loans to fund its programmes and operations.
Six percent of the ANC’s income of R1.9-billion over the past five years has come from membership fees, while 58% has come from donations or fundraising income. DM
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No, why should we be paying to enable the continuation of cadre deployment and corruption? We should not be paying any public funds to political parties. They must just raise their own donations. The ANC mismanages their own funds just as they mismanage public funds.
If a private company had pocketed payroll deductions for years, the directors would be in jail!
It is strange that the ANC have neglected to milk their largest potential source of income, the tenderpreunership industry. This huge industry is a wholly owned ANC monopoly so it is ripe for exploitation to fill the party coffers.
I suggest the following:
1) Auction off licenses to operate a tenderpreuner business. This is sure to raise a few billion Rand.
2) Charge an annual license fee. This will keep the money rolling in.
3) Charge windfall taxes for tenderpreuner deals above certain limits. This is the icing on the cake that will handily pay for all ANC extravaganzas.
4) Operate a protection racket to extort additional funds from tenderpreuner licensees. This will fund the opulent lifestyle of the ANC elite.(and keep ANC hitmen employed)
So, with an imaginative readiness to exploit its own natural assets, the ANC can easily solve its funding problems.
Nothing stops you from declaring donation above 100000, so where is the problem? Ohhh right, we could then see the criminals and BEE kingpins as your primary source of money. The ANC really is closer to the mafia than to a political organization.
Clueless thieves !
Surely they are legally obligated to pay pensions?
Their failure to meet basic commitments to their employees is criminal and shows how little regard they have for workers despite their president being a former trade union leader of significance. Their problem is that they seek to run a parallel government which dictates to the official government. This is extremely costly and beyond what is expected of a normal political party. It also turns Parliament into a rubber stamp carrying out the orders of the NEC.
How about just sacking all the bottom-feeders who just hang around the ANC in the hope of getting to the front-line at the trough? Thinking of you, Mr Fokkol ……
Why should tax-payers money cover these?
It all goes to show that the ANC are unable to manage anything….
“The FSCA signed an enforceable undertaking with the ANC staff provident fund, requiring the party to pay R10-million into the fund each month until its accumulated contribution arrears were paid in full.”
Have they paid , if not why ?
Seems like the anc if financially bankrupt too !
R200m a year income over the last five years, with 60% going to salaries? That’s R120m a year on salaries alone. Excluding the R555m in debt, so add another R62m odd from that and you have a salary bill of around R180m a year? How many staff do they have? And I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay their salaries given how they’ve enabled the destruction of our country.
Eish! My maths is Zuma level! R400m a year, so R240m plus the other R60m odd, making the salary bill R300m a year!
In the USA, charities are audited on income and expenditure. More than 5% on salaries gets them flagged as potentially wasteful. It seems the ANC charity really does start at home!
Typical anc (and woodwork man)! I am only guilty if I’m caught, and if I am caught, then I will pay it back (because I didn’t know). But you taxpayers… don’t even try!
Champions all round. Sunk Eskom, PRASA, SAPS, EDUCATION, WATER & SANITATION……. now the ANC itself.
Please, we need society to stand up and STOP any changes to the bill to increase taxpayers funding the ANC or increasing the amount to be declared from R100k or a ceiling of 10mil. That MUST stand. OUTA, ask for funding to stop that and we rather pay you than fund the ANC.