A WEEK ago we asked President Cyril Ramaphosa if he would sign the Political Party Funding Bill before the elections, and yesterday, he signed it into law. The big question now is whether it will be in time to lay bare the political parties’ books before the elections.
Highly unlikely. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) told Parliament it would take at least six months to set up its systems.
The public and smaller parties stand to benefit from the law as they will get to know the funders behind political parties and the smaller parties will get a bigger slice of the pie. In the past, the largest share went to the African National Congress (ANC) due to the number of parliamentary seats it holds.
The law prohibits donations from foreign governments and their agencies, government departments and state owned entities. It also regulates the amount an individual can donate to a party in a calendar year. https://uncensoredopinion.co.za/wp-admin/post.php?post=8056&action=edit
The ANC welcomed the law saying it will strengthen democracy and usher in an era of democracy.
Themba Godi of the African People’s Convention (APC) tweeted: 
“Just been told that finally the Represented Political Party Funding Bill has been signed by President Ramaphosa today. At long last!”
It’s taken over a decade for the bill into the transparency into party funding to be passed into law.
Lobby group My Vote Counts which took the matter to court, welcomed the law saying it will enhance transparency.
