The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) are calling on prominent political donors, including the influential Oppenheimer mining family, to justify their financial contributions to political parties in a Parliamentary hearing.
Since 2021, South African law requires political parties to report their donations to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). The substantial amounts given by the Oppenheimers and other affluent entrepreneurs have sparked widespread discussion.
The issue was raised during a budget discussion for the Department of Home Affairs on Tuesday, where the EFF criticized why these donors did not contribute instead to the Multiparty Democracy Fund, which is designed to equally distribute funds across all parties.
Parties like the Democratic Alliance (DA), ActionSA, Build One South Africa (BOSA), and RISE Mzansi have all received significant funding from the Oppenheimer family, while bank founder Michiel Le Roux has also made notable donations to the DA.
EFF member Yazini Tetyana voiced concerns over the underlying intentions behind these large donations, and announced plans to request the Home Affairs portfolio committee to summon these donors to clarify their motives and the origins of their funding amidst ongoing national hardships.
In response, Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber suggested the EFF should also examine their financial disclosures, particularly concerning unresolved issues like the VBS bank scandal. He remarked, “The question we need to ask is where’s the EFF’s declarations of the VBS money? We want to look into the declarations. We can’t only talk about party funding and ignore and turn a blind eye to these serious allegations.”
Schreiber also noted that an independent panel is already reviewing the country’s electoral system.
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