Court papers have been served on South Africa’s four largest political parties in an attempt to compel them to reveal the source of all large private donations made into their coffers since January 1 this year.
The legal action, launched by the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (Idasa), is to be heard in the Cape High Court, probably in February.
Following the delivery of the papers earlier this week, the African National Congress, Democratic Alliance, Inkatha Freedom Party and New National Party have 10 working days in which to respond.
If they choose to oppose Idasa’s court application, the four will have a further 15 days in which to file answering affidavits.
Speaking at a media briefing in Cape Town on Thursday, Idasa executive director Paul Graham said the parties have for years been ignoring legitimate requests for information on the source of private donations they receive.
He said political parties are public bodies, and the information is being sought in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act.
Idasa political information and monitoring service head Judith February said Idasa is ”not on a fishing expedition”, seeking evidence of corruption in past years.
For this reason, the application to the court sought to establish information about donations received by the four parties since the beginning of this year.
It pertains to any donation ”in cash or in kind of more than R50 000 in value”.
It also seeks information on the date of any such donation, the name of the donor, the amount or value of the donation, and the conditions on which the donation was made and received, if any.
”The public have a right to this information, so that informed choices can be made in next year’s election. We’re establishing a principle.”
The electorate will be able to judge whether there is any link between the source of money received by a party and that party’s policies.
Idasa manager Richard Calland said the response received from political parties to requests for information on their private funding has been that they are not public bodies.
”They are arguing they are private bodies.”
Some parties have also said they have a right to privacy and confidentiality when it comes to private funding.
Answering a question on whether, if compelled to reveal their sources, parties will scare away donors, Calland said international experience does not show this.
According to an Idasa position paper on the regulation of private funding to parties, ”secret donations from private sources, such as wealthy individuals or large corporations, can exert undue influence on the political system”.
Idasa has been campaigning for legislation to regulate private funding since 1997.
To date, only one political party in South Africa — the African Christian Democratic Party — has revealed the extent of private funding it receives.
According to findings of an international survey of 104 countries, contained in the Idasa position paper, 62% have disclosure rules, and almost a third (32%) have regulated disclosing the names of individual donors. — Sapa