By Zuko Komisa
- The IEC report reveals South African political parties declared over R230 million in private donations for the 2024/25 financial year.
- Wealthy families and major corporate donors, such as the Oppenheimers and Martin Moshal, continue to finance the bulk of party politics.
- The IEC has warned of stricter enforcement measures due to persistent gaps in donor disclosure compliance.
South African political parties declared just over R230 million in private donations for the 2024/25 financial year, according to the Electoral Commission’s (IEC) latest funding report.
Wealthy individuals and major corporations continue to drive the vast majority of party financing.
Prominent donors include members of the Oppenheimer family, who distributed a combined R60 million across the Democratic Alliance (DA), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), and Rise Mzansi, alongside individual contributions of R15 million.
Gambling entrepreneur Martin Moshal, owner of Betway, contributed over R26 million to ActionSA, Build One South Africa (BOSA), and the IFP.
The DA emerged as the largest overall beneficiary, securing roughly R68 million, significantly bolstered by investment firms Fynbos Ekwitiet and Fynbos Kapitaal, which each gave R15 million.
Meanwhile, the African National Congress declared approximately R53 million in total funding, featuring a R25 million injection from its internal Batho Batho Trust.
Corporate entities also bolstered the state-run multi-party democracy fund. Mining heavyweight Exxaro contributed R25 million, while Standard Bank and Discovery collectively added R3 million.
“The commission remains committed to transparency and will enforce full compliance to ensure the integrity of our democratic processes.”
Despite these disclosures, the IEC highlighted ongoing inconsistencies in party reporting and warned that regulatory enforcement will be tightened ahead of upcoming electoral cycles.
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