THE new kid in the political space, Rise Mzansi, has declared the highest value of donations, amounting to R16,7 million.
The Electoral Commission revealed this during its release of the third quarterly Disclosure Report for the financial year 2023/24.
The report covers 1 October to 31 December 2023.
The commission said Rise Mzansi, one of the new political parties, having only registered with it on 7 September 2023, declared the highest value of donations received during the third quarter at R16 744 186.
It said of the total declared amount, R15 000 000 was a monetary donation received from Rebecca Oppenheimer, who has in the past made similar large donations to parties such as the DA and ActionSA.
Commission spokeswoman Kate Bapela said ActionSA declared the second-largest donation for the quarter by receiving their highest monetary donations.
The donations are from the party’s regular donors, Victoria Freudenheim R7 486 200 and Martin Moshal R5 000 000, made of two separate donations of R3 000 000 and R2 000 000 during October and November 2023.
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The ANC made the third highest donation declaration, valued at a combined R10 000 000, followed by Build One South Africa, which declared R8 500 000, which was all monetary.
Bapela said the party’s highest donation was received from Jessica Bridget Slack Jell, valued at R6 000 000, followed by Martin Moshal with a donation of R2 000 000, and lastly, an entity named RTH Investments (Pty) Ltd with a donation of R500 000.
“All these are regular donors to various political parties in South Africa, inclusive of the DA and ActionSA,” she said.
Patriotic Alliance declared monetary donations amounting to R7 096 380 from eight donors.
Bapela said Party leader Gayton McKenzie was the party’s highest donor for the quarter, with three separate donations.
Another party leader, Kenny Kunene, made a total monetary donation of R1 007 250 to his party during the same period.
The DA declared a sum of R2 608 009,05.
Lastly, the Inkatha Freedom Party declared R191 040,77.
Bapela said the total value of donations declared for the third quarter of the 2023/24 financial year is a noteworthy R 59 052 065,82.
“There's been a steady increase in the value of donations disclosed for the third quarter, which is, in some ways, indicative of the heightened fundraising activities by political parties in preparation for the upcoming elections,” she said.
