CR17 campaign funds must be public to ward off danger of secrecy
The EFF’s lawyer, Ishmael Semenya, says there is a danger that politicians will use public office to further the agendas of benefactors
The EFF was not submitting or insinuating that there was anything “untoward” in the donations made to the CR17 campaign, its counsel said in court on Tuesday. But the party contends that when information that was supposed to be public was kept confidential, there was a danger that politicians would use public office to further the agendas of benefactors.
“That is the danger of secrecy,” said Ishmael Semenya SC. The CR17 campaign ultimately saw President Cyril Ramaphosa elected ANC president in December 2017. The EFF wants the Pretoria high court to unseal the banking records of the CR17 campaign that were put before the court during Ramaphosa’s and public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s court battle over her infamous Bosasa report, which found, among other things, that Ramaphosa had a duty to disclose to parliament who the donors to the CR17 campaign were. ..
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