ANC@112
ANC turns to crowdfunding to stabilise its finances
The ANC has established a crowdfunding initiative where its members and the public can make monetary contributions aimed at stabilising the party’s finances and helping it run a smooth election campaign.
The initiative will allow people to make pledges in two ways; a short SMS code for pledges ranging between R10-R30 and an EFT payment system where people can pledge between R100 – R99 000.
ANC president, Cyril Ramaphosa announced this on Friday, 12 January while addressing hundreds of delegates attending the PBF annual Presidential Gala Dinner ahead of the party’s 112th birthday celebration on Saturday in Mbombela, Mpumalanga.
“We remain committed to renewing, rebuilding and strengthening our organisation so that it has the means and resources to advance this work.
“As part of this effort, I am pleased to tonight announce the official launch of the ANC crowdfunding initiative championed by the treasurer general, this crowdfunding initiative will allow our members, it will also allow our supports many of whom are seated here, and the general public to donate to the ANC as part of ensuring that the party works towards financial sustainability and self-sufficiency,” the president said.
The dinner was attended by hundreds of people who forked out between R50 000 and up to R500 000 for a seat at Ramaphosa’s table.
Ramaphosa said the large turnout at the event was a testament to the willingness of supporters and members to ANC. The crowdfunding initiative would be a great tool to also reach those who could not physically attend the event to support the ANC, the president said.
The party’s website stipulates that the initiative will better equip it to register a “decisive win in the forthcoming National and Provincial General Elections in 2024.”
It says the pledges will help the party live up to its 55th Conference resolutions, the Manifesto Declarations and commitments to the people and deliver on its National Programme of Action.
“When ordinary and extraordinary South Africans pledge to the movement, they are making it their personal responsibility to help the party continue the work of transforming South Africans’ lives for the better.”
The crowdfunding initiative came days after the party reached an out-of-court settlement in its R102-million debt, plus interest and costs it owes to Ezulweni Investments. This is a company that printed election banners and other campaign material featuring Ramaphosa, which helped clinch a win for the party in the 2019 elections.
Read more in Daily Maverick: ConCourt unlikely to overturn Ezulweni liquidation order – but it could buy time for the ANC
The ANC has over the years had severe financial troubles as it struggled to meet its financial obligations to staff members and creditors. Previously, the party’s website crashed when it failed to pay a service provider, and its archive is now hosted under a different domain name. In 2021 and 2022, under the leadership of then treasurer-general, Paul Mashatile, staff held regular protests at headquarters, Luthuli House because of unpaid salaries, UIF and pension contributions.
In December 2023, the party’s national spokesperson, Hlengiwe Motsiri-Bhengu said the party’s finances remained stable for the year and as a result it met its financial obligations and paid all its suppliers who rendered services for various events – on time.
Last week, Treasurer General, Gwen Ramokgopa, echoed similar sentiments.
“We have been able to stabilise our finances to the extent that we are able to execute our task of managing democracy, monitoring the effectiveness of government and responding to the needs of citizens,” she told Sunday Times.
Ramaphosa’s January 8th Statement is expected to touch on several issues including SA’s genocide case against Israel, the party’s plans to root out corruption, end rolling blackouts, alleviate poverty and stop rampant crime.DM
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The sheer audacity of these miscreants is breathtaking; their cynicism unplumbable. Half a brick to sit at a table with Ramaposeur? I hope he’s brushed up his table manners. He should be doing porridge, not eating the stuff.
Gobsmacks aside, it would be very interesting to find out how much more the ANC can squeeze out of the people they so poorly failed. (I assume that part of our citizenry is targeted based on the ten rand pledges).
Part of me is intrigued by this feint whiff of an idea of putting your money where your vote is. Completely undemocratic, but there it sits in the shadows.
With all of its governance shortcomings and mistakes, there is no other party that has the ANC’s history of caring and
fighting for SA, for the marginalised and the poor.
Sadly it has allowed itself to be captured by the visionless, the incompetent and the corrupt.
The ANC’s renewal, rebirth and re-engineering require a people’s unity and enormous
resources.
“there is no other party that has the ANC’s history of caring and fighting for SA, for the marginalised and the poor.”🤣🤣
The caring part of it’s history is of the distant variety. The ANC is nothing more than an infestation of ticks sucking the life out of the country and that’s been the case for at least 20 years.
“And most of them wasted the money they had. Few, very few, warned against wasteful and over spending. Even fewer said they should act against corruption. So they spent it all. Then they asked their supporters for more money.”
A study of lunacy.
Duduzane can help us locate the Gupta loot we need it back
There is no we in the ANC, only I. Sure there is a lot of stealing going on in the ANC as well.
R500,000 for a seat at the president’s table? I imagine this is how the Gupta fiasco began. Why would you pay for such a seat if not for personal gain?
If I were fantastically wealthy I could imagine paying 500k to not sit next to that cardboard cutout of a man.
April fool has come early this year 🤣🤣🤣
I’d be interested to hear why none of the legal-minded Civil Society Organisations (such as FUL) have not approached the courts to force the ANC to provide it’s financial statements and source of funds. I’m pretty sure there is an excellent “Public Good” argument to be made to shine a light on how a bankrupt organisation (financially and morally) suddenly has the funds to settle R100m debts and contest an election.
Does anyone else think Russia, Iran, Cuba and Hamas may be channeling some funds into the ANC coffers (via the President’s couches, of course)?
That the ANC is bought and paid for by external actors is a dead cert for me. If we know nothing else about the great and the good of the glorious liberation movement it’s that they are for sale and cheaply at that.
Yes
Last desperate attempt to get money as the taxpayers piggy bank is empty.
There is a distinct difference between “donations” which expect no return and “investments” which do most certainly expect a return.
“donations” running into R10s of thousands are simply NOT donations they are investments. Whether a R500k investment is disguised as the price of a seat at Ramaphosa’s table or a R50m investment is declared as a donation, both “donors” expect a return and will ensure that they get it. To pretend otherwise is just lying to yourself.
The shamelessness of these people is staggering. They look to the people who’s future’s they have stolen by looting the fiscus to prop them up when their profligate spending on bling catches up. No doubt they’ll haul in a fortune as one thing we aren’t short of in SA is morons.
Sounds almost like a recent orange president scamming his voters out of their hard earned money by begging, without delivering on promises?
I’m wondering why they don’t ask the people they appointed to senior positions all over the country to give them some of the billions they stole?
“Crowdfunding” is a relatively easy way to launder much larger donations / bail-out funds received from donors or sources the ANC want to keep hidden.