- The Electoral Commission of South Africa is yet to receive all the resources it needs for implementing the Political Party Funding Act.
- The first report will, however, be ready before the local government elections later this year.
- It is aimed at regulating party funding more strictly.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) does not yet have all the resources it needs to undertake its responsibilities under the new Political Party Funding Act, but voters will be able to see the first report on party funding before the local government elections later this year.
Commission vice-chairperson Janet Love told a media workshop on Wednesday that the Act, to be promulgated on 1 April, will not be in full force for the local government elections, expected to be held between September and November this year.
"It will take some time for us to feel the impact of the Act," she said.
She said:
A printed version of the report would also be made available to Parliament and the public.
"Notwithstanding that the national municipal elections are due between August and November this year, there will be at least one public disclosure ahead of our election," she said.
Love explained that the Political Party Funding Act required transparency, and that all political parties and donors must disclose their sources and the amounts of funding they received or that which they had donated, in separate disclosure processes.
"It sets annual limits on the amounts of funding that can be made to a party by private parties and institutions," she said.
It also prohibited governments, organs of state or state-owned enterprises from making contributions to parties.