MTN explains political donations
MTN says that 13 political parties will benefit from corporate political donations from the group, leading up to the 2014 national elections.
MTN did not disclose the amount of funding it had set aside for parties for the 2014 elections, but in 2009, the group approved an allocation of funding for political parties of approximately R13 million.
“MTN is supportive of efforts to strengthen South Africa’s multiparty democracy; accordingly, the group has made funding available to 13 political parties currently represented in parliament, as they prepare to take part in the 7 May 2014 general elections.”
“We believe that political parties need resources to participate in elections, and extending funding to these organisations is critical to ensuring a vibrant and democratic society,” MTN said.
The group noted that the political funding is in line with the MTN’s Code of Ethics and Corporate Political Contributions Policy.
In determining the allocations, MTN followed the Independent Electoral Commission’s model of proportional representation in parliament, based on the outcome of the 2009 general elections.
MTN has in the past sponsored as much as R13 million to political parties
Vodacom, Cell C and Telkom
When asked about political sponsorship, Vodacom said that, in line with Vodafone Group corporate policy, it does not make any political donations.
However, the company said that it may provide funding to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) for the election, which would allow it to remain politically neutral.
In its integrated report for 2012, Vodacom noted that it is “proactive and are thought leaders in our engagement with governments and other stakeholders, but do not make political party contributions”.
Responding to the query, Telkom said that “no discussion or decision has taken place regarding political donations for 2014.”
Cell C did not respond to queries by the time of publication.
Financial backing from financial houses
The big banks in South Africa are all politically active in some way, with Absa making the most recent corporate shift by stopping all political donations.
On Monday, Absa confirmed that it will discontinue all political donations and that it made its final donations to political parties in December 2013.
Absa had previously supported all political parties who had three seats or more in the National Assembly.
Nedbank takes an apolitical stance on funding, saying that, while it fully supports the South African democratic system, it does not contribute to individual political parties.
“Nedbank may, however, periodically enter into banking transactions with various parties in the ordinary course of business, according to its policies,” it said.
Standard Bank donates funds to political parties who are represented in the National Assembly.
According to the bank, parties must submit a written report to the bank on how they have used the previous year’s donation, in order to be considered.
Standard Bank donated R5 million to parties in 2009 – and a total of R13.5 million was allocated to political parties over the five-year election cycle from 2010 to 2014. In 2012, it donated a total of R2.1 million (2011: R2.1 million).
FNB’s position is that the bank does not fund election activities of political parties and maintains a strictly neutral political stance, while actively supporting the policies of our democratically elected Government.
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