Several political parties and interest groups have called for increasing South Africa’s political donation threshold, which would significantly impact party funding transparency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs is reviewing submissions on a resolution to grant the President the authority to set the upper limit and minimum disclosure threshold for donor funds that a political party or independent candidate may receive annually from a single donor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Currently, the Political Party Funding Act (PPFA) sets donation thresholds and requirements for parties to declare their external income. This includes a R15-million a year limit from a single donor and a R100,000 declaration threshold<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Electoral Matters Amendment Act (EMAA), signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 7 May 2024, amended the PPFA to allow independent candidates to run for positions in the National Assembly and provincial legislatures and access the Multi-Party Democracy Fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, it contained amendments that removed the disclosure thresholds in the PPFA, and the National Assembly failed to pass a resolution to close the gap before the elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This resulted in a prolonged period of, as advocacy group My Vote Counts (MVC) described it, “party funding lawlessness.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n These limits were reinstated by the Western Cape High Court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n