South Africa’s political party funding regime is drawing criticism for failing to lift the veil on who really bankrolls the country’s politics. Despite receiving more than R3.2 billion in the past financial year, most political parties disclose only a fraction of their private funding sources, according to the latest report from the IEC.

My Vote Counts, an electoral transparency watchdog, highlights that only 32% of private political donations could be traced to a named source in 2023-24. That number is likely to fall further after recent legal changes doubled the reporting threshold for private donations from R100 000 to R200 000.

As a result, vast sums flow under the radar, never reaching public disclosure. The situation is most glaring in the ruling ANC’s books. The party reported R413 million as “other income,” a figure that accounts for 78% of its declared private revenue and which arrives with no breakdown or source information. The problem doesn’t end there.

Parties including the EFF, Rise Mzansi, ActionSA, and the ANC themselves collectively declared tens of millions in loans, yet the law requires no transparency on lenders, repayment terms, or conditions. While the IEC issued more than sixty compliance directives to parties last year, only two related to disclosure of donations. The commission’s party funding office is hobbled by a R25 million budget that critics argue is far too little to police a multi-billion-rand ecosystem.

As more funds slip through reporting gaps and vague categories, watchdogs say the risks to democracy mount. Without lower thresholds and full transparency on party income and loans, the public remains in the dark about who shapes South Africa’s politics and to whose benefit.