The National Assembly postponed closing the gap in the Party Funding Law for a week. (Jaco Marais/Netwerk24)
- Parliament has adjourned a motion to plug holes in the party funding bill for a week for “further consultations”.
- The resolution would give the president the power to set regulations on the standards by which political parties and independents must declare donations received.
- Since the Electoral Matters Amendment Act went into effect on Wednesday, there have been no restrictions or standards in place until Congress adopts a resolution authorizing the president to enact regulations.
Political parties can now accept donations of any amount without having to declare them for at least a week.
On Thursday morning, the National Assembly decided to postpone consideration of a motion addressing gaps in the party funding bill until next week, pending further consultations between the political parties.
The Electoral Matters Amendment Act is said to make consequential changes to legislation, including the Political Party Funding Act, in line with the Electoral Amendment Act, which allows independent candidates to participate in national and local elections. But he also tinkered with party funding laws beyond what was necessary to bring independent candidates into the party.
President Cyril Ramaphosa gave his assent to the law on Saturday and it came into force on Wednesday. In effect, this is due to regulations on Political Party Funding Act which set a threshold that all donations over R100,000 must be declared, and the current limit that political parties can only receive R15 million from one donor per year. is to be abolished.
“If the Electoral Affairs Bill is passed, there will be a gap in the law because there is no cap,” Parliament Legal Adviser Charmaine van der Merwe said at a special meeting of the Parliamentary Organizing Committee last week. he warned. Until the president enacts those rules, he has no limits on contributions or disclosures, and the president can only enact those rules by action of Congress. ”
He added, “At this point in time, with the election coming up, it is extremely important that we do not find ourselves in a situation where the limits on donations and declarations are unclear.''
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Regarding the Political Party Funding Act, the president must establish the standard and limit amounts through a resolution of the National Assembly. Therefore, before Prime Minister Ramaphosa can enact regulations, Parliament must first pass a resolution.
Mr van der Merwe proposed adopting a resolution on Thursday that would maintain the current thresholds and limits. However, opposition parties questioned why a resolution was necessary since the Election Law Amendment Act had not yet been enacted at the time, even though the resolution was based on the Political Party Funding Act. They also asked for clarification on the current state of the law.
It was decided that the resolution would be postponed until the final meeting on May 16th.
But Prime Minister Ramaphosa signed the bill on Saturday, declaring it would come into force from Wednesday.
The motion, which includes a resolution authorizing President Ramaphosa to enact regulations on thresholds and limits, was published in the Order of Thursday's meeting sent out on Wednesday night.
At the start of Thursday's meeting, ANC MPs on behalf of Chief Whip Pemmy Majodina suggested that “the motion be reserved for further consultation” and withdrawn until next week.
Acting Chair Lechesa Tzenoli said she understood and agreed that consultations were taking place in this regard.