Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for greater transparency in the funding of political parties, claiming that private funding was opening the space for undue influence. "Democracy cannot flourish when political parties are dependent for their continued existence on the largesse of private funders (because of) … the potential it creates for conflict of interest and the exercise of undue influence," he told the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa on Thursday. Public funding mechanisms had to be established through which political parties could be sustained. He also said that democratic governments were critical in fostering growth and had been used as a barometer to assess the ability of a country to manage public resources and exercise sound economic management. "Several international investors use the country’s state of democratic government in assessing the impact of political risk on their investment." Ratings agencies are keeping a close eye on polit...
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