African National Congress (ANC) President Cyril Ramaphosa says the governing party’s internal party funding guidelines are not suited for the time we live in.
In his opening statement to the State Capture Commission, Ramaphosa dealt with the risks of corruption attached to the lack of transparency in the donations and funding political parties receive.
He says this is why the Political Party Funding Act that came in force at the beginning of April, was necessary.
However, he says the funding of internal party campaigns needs to be looked at.
“The issue forms part of the discussion documents published in 2020, in preparation for the ANC’s upcoming National General Council (NGC) and raising this issue in the NEC meeting [on] 26 July. I said as President in the absence of clear appropriate and realistic guidelines, our leadership contests will continue to play themselves out in the shadows, in conditions of secrecy and mistrust encouraging patronage and factionalism.”
Ramaphosa says the issue of state capture has been a matter of great political contestation for several years within the governing party.
Ramaphosa’s CR17 campaign drew some criticism in the party and country when a number of prominent South Africans were revealed to have donated to his campaign for the party Presidency in 2017.
Ramaphosa’s much anticipated two-part appearance is due to focus on among others his tenure as party Deputy President, as well as his role as the chairperson of the ANC Cadre Deployment Committee.
Ramaphosa says the party has taken a number of resolutions to prevent corruption.
“The ANC has, over the course of several years, recognised the existence of corruption within the state, its own ranks and other parts of society. It has taken a number of resolutions on measures to prevent corruption, including on issues relating to state capture.”
“We must acknowledge that the issue of state capture has been a matter of great political contestation within the ANC – differences over whether state capture existed, its extent and form and what should be done about it,” adds the President.
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