ANC scrambles to raise funds as it struggles to pay for election material

The ANC’s financial struggles are back in the spotlight after party insiders claimed it could not afford election materials such as poster, banners and T-shirts.

With the national and provincial elections just over two months away, there are no visible posters promoting the ANC.

ANC’s financial crisis

City Press reports the reason for this is the party has no money to do so.

ANC election officials from across the country held a meeting to raise concerns about the lack of budget for campaign items.

“During the meeting, the officials weren’t happy that, since the declaration of the election date, the party hasn’t yet started creating election material like T-shirts, banners and posters. The issue was discussed at length because their plans also include advertisements on radio, on TV, in newspapers and on digital platforms,” an insider told the publication.

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The financial troubles, however, extend beyond election posters and banners. The insider also claimed the party has been pay its staff late and is three months behind with UIF and medical aid contributions.

The ANC’s lack of cash has even led to some calling for a vote of no confidence in treasurer-general Gwen Ramokgopa.

They blame her for not raising enough funds, which means the ANC’s election team can not properly implement its plans.

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To try and raise funds, the ANC has been hosting gala dinners and even deployed top party officials to ask businesspeople for donations.

“I was called by top officials from the province asking for my help. They said that even if it wasn’t money, they’d appreciate it if I could pay for either T-shirts or a certain number of banners or posters,” a North West businessperson told City Press.

Political party funding

The issue of party funding came to the fore this week after the controversial Electoral Matters Amendment Bill was passed in Parliament.

The Bill will change the Political Party Funding Act (PPFA). One of the major changes is that 90% of the funds available to political parties will be distributed based on proportional representation, while the remaining 10% will be allocated on an equitable basis.

Opposition parties accused the ANC of pushing the Bill through to ensure more money gets directed its way.

IFP MP Liezel van der Merwe described it as an “unconstitutional money grab by the ruling party”.

“It is clear that under the guise of independent candidates being elected, the minister used this process to ensure that the broke ruling party is able to fill its party coffers ahead of the do or die 2024 elections [and] of course the minister will deny this,” she said.

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Watch: Mbalula says complaints about funding come from ‘place of bitterness’

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula on Saturday rubbished these claims while campaigning the party’s arts and culture subcommittee in Pretoria.

“I don’t think so. I think that democracy allows that each one must benefit according to its size. It’s not one size fits all, and that is what the Bill does. If you win more votes, and you’re in the position of the ANC, you’ll get the biggest share,” he said.

He added that the complaints come from “a place of bitterness”.

[WATCH] It is not by surprise that some will pretend to be disgruntled by the passing of the Electoral Matters Amendment Bill. Democracy allows that allocations for all parties should be according to their size/constituency. The more votes a party gains, that should translate… pic.twitter.com/GKxOWOUVV9

— ANC SECRETARY GENERAL | Fikile Mbalula (@MbalulaFikile) March 16, 2024

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