South Africans are, quite possibly, the most generous taxpayers on the planet.
Not by choice, mind you.
We give without consent, donate without intent, and fund entire political empires while potholes bloom like wild flowers after the rain.
According to a recent report by Rebecca Davis in Daily Maverick, we coughed up R2.1bn in the last financial year to political parties, whether we liked it or not.
The funds were siphoned off via the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), parliament and provincial legislatures.
It’s not a tax, apparently. It’s a democracy levy. Which sounds noble until you remember that “levy” is just a polite word for “hand it over”.
A report by My Vote Counts (MVC), a watchdog group that’s been pushing for transparency in party funding since 2012, revealed that the ANC pocketed a cool R1bn, the DA took home R430m and the EFF strutted off with R259m.
Meanwhile, we’re still waiting for reliable water, working street lights and schools without broken windows.
The official line is that this money can only be used for “specific purposes” like “furthering political education” or “developing the will of the people”.
Forgive me, but I already have a will of my own — and it’s currently busy resisting the urge to throw a shoe at the TV every time a politician says “for the people”.
The numbers are staggering.
Between public and private funding, political parties raked in R3.2bn last year, over a billion more than the year before.
Of course, it was an election year, and nothing oils the machinery of democracy quite like other people’s money.
But here’s where it really gets worrying.
The ANC and DA combined received more than 73% of all funding, effectively turning our political landscape into an exclusive club.
The more money they get, the less chance anyone else has of entering the room.
That’s not democracy — that’s a monopoly.
And then there’s the little matter of trust.
The IEC must simply believe that parties are being honest about where their donations come from.
We only know about a third of the money trail, because new regulations require disclosure only for donations above R200,000.
Everything else slips neatly into the shadows or, as one might call it, the donor twilight zone.
MVC has also reportedly flagged another loophole — donations disguised as “loans”, allowing parties to sidestep disclosure altogether.
Canada makes them declare those.
We, of course, do not.
So, while we pay our rates, our fuel levies and our stealth democracy tax, the real question is this: since when did I give permission for my money to fund any political party?
I never signed a debit order for democracy’s middlemen.
Because here’s the truth — it’s not their money.
It’s ours.
And until someone asks before helping themselves, I’d like to withdraw my consent.
The Herald
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