The ANC and DA were the only political parties to declare donations during the fourth quarter of the 2021/2022 financial year, with the donations falling below R30 million – the first time this has happened since political party funding disclosure legislation has been introduced.
According to a statement released by the Electoral Commission (IEC), the ANC received R10 million in donations while the DA received R2 525 387.72 – all of which were foreign donations bar one.
The donations indicate that donors are less willing to give political parties money immediately after an election. The quarter preceding this one staged the local government elections.
“All of DA’s declared donations, except for one, were received from foreign donors – the FNF and Danish Liberal Democracy Programme (DLDP). The combined value of these foreign donations is R 2 405 387.72, constituting 95% of the total value of donations declared by the DA during the fourth quarter,” reads the IEC statement.
“Of this amount, the FNF donated R 1 713 250.80, and the DLDP donated R 692 136.92”
The IEC said it found it necessary to consider the cumulative value of all the donations over the financial year in review seeing that each of the foreign donors had made repeated donations to the party.
The Commission confirmed that all the donations declared by the DA were compliant with the Act and fell within the R5 million ceiling per donor.
The ANC’s R10 million donation came from the Northern Cape-based magnesium mine, United Manganese of Kalahari (UMK).
“As we have previously observed, the majority of donations to the ANC over the 2021/2022 financial year has come from sources linked to the party. The latest R10-million donation from UMK is no exception: the ANC’s investment arm, Chancellor House, is one of the BEE investors in UMK,” reports Daily Maverick.
In world news, the European Union (EU) was finally able to convince Hungary of its plan to ban Russian oil and overnight decided to impose a partial ban. The latest round of sanctions are some of the toughest against Russia and will have adverse effects on not only the Russians but on EU member states who rely on Russian oil.
The ban only applies to crude oil and petroleum products imported by sea, which means piped oil can continue to be bought temporarily.
In the currency markets, the Rand closed firmer at R15.48/$ last night as the Dollar lost ground to the Euro and Pound yesterday.
“The US holiday saw the Rand keep to a narrow range, but it did attempt to break the R15.45 level before settling back. We are a touch softer this morning at R15.50/$, with the Dollar trading up from last night’s closing levels. Hawkish comments from Fed officials and a jump in US bond yields are supporting the Dollar this morning,” comments forex trading house TreasuryONE.
Here’s a round-up of what we’re reading:
SA Business
What it will take to keep Eskom going – The Conversation
Godongwana ‘misread’ order on preferential procurement for government tenders – ConCourt – Fin24
SA on edge as monster fuel hike looms – Fin24
Global Business
The Mona Lisa was attacked with a pastry by a man disguised as an elderly woman in a wheelchair – Business Insider
Sanctions-hit Russia stockpiling grain – Fin24
Chinese Film Starlet Fined a Million Dollars for Fat-Loss Ads – Bloomberg
Markets
Euro edges down but set for largest monthly gain in a year – SABC
Asian markets swing on new inflation, rates concerns – AFP
Oil Up, Reactions to EU Agreement on Russian Supplies Sanctions Continue – Investing.com
Tech
Gowth expected as more businesses invest in technology – Ventureburn
The rise of AI is pushing patent laws to their limits – TNW
For remittances, crypto is still a problem looking for a solution – Tech Crunch
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