Political analyst Somadoda Fikeni says the Bosasa donation saga has again brought into question the issue of political party funding. On Saturday, the ANC said President Cyril Ramaphosa will pay back the donation that Bosasa security company CEO Gavin Watson made to his election campaign for party Presidency. It also said Ramaphosa had called for an investigation into all donations made to his election campaign.
In a letter to National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete, Ramaphosa says the money was deposited into the trust fund account of his son Andile, without his knowledge.
Last week, DA leader Mmusi Maimane questioned Ramaphosa in Parliament on the donation and he said he thought it was payment for his son’s consulting services. Ramaphosa said he was later contradicted when his son denied having received the alleged payment.
Fikeni says it’s clear that a lot of money is circulating to support different political candidates.
“If the main aim is to establish the transparency of the relationship between the lobbying businesses and political figures, then the funding of individual political figures is also to be regulated, then this will solve this particular problem.”
