ActionSA has accused the African National Congress (ANC) of admitting in court papers to an unlawful agreement aimed at settling the party’s debt to Ezulweni Investments. According to a statement released on Monday, ActionSA claimed the ANC’s legal filings reveal the party entered into an: “unlawful and unconstitutional settlement agreement” to resolve outstanding invoices for election banners and campaign materials supplied by Ezulweni ahead of previous national elections.

ActionSA alleges that the ANC owed Ezulweni approximately R150 million but was unable to pay the full amount. To work around this, the ANC allegedly placed a new order with Ezulweni for goods valued at R190 million. However, ActionSA claims the actual value of goods in this new order is only R125 million. The difference of R65 million is alleged to represent the effective settlement of the historic R150 million debt. According to ActionSA, the balance of that debt, R85 million, amounts to a donation-in-kind, which would contravene party funding laws.

ActionSA stated: “The ANC placed an order valued at R190 million to write off the historic debt, for goods independently valued at only R125 million, effectively settling a R150 million debt with R65 million in actual value. In terms of the Political Party Funding Act, this constitutes a donation-in-kind of approximately R85 million at the time of signing, far exceeding the annual limit of R15 million for any single donor.”

ActionSA further argued: “The settlement did not follow proper legal procedures. It was unconstitutional because it sidestepped the court process and statutory rules. The ANC is accused of trying to pay its campaign debt in a manner that may violate South African law.”

The ANC has not yet issued a formal response to these claims.