EDITORIAL: Revisit political donor funding
The electorate needs to know how party policies are influenced by the interests of their donors
There can be little doubt that the donations to political parties and independent candidates should be regulated both as to their disclosure and as to the annual allowable limit per donor.
Donations to political parties can be motivated by a wish to gain favour to win lucrative government contracts, as has been the case in SA. The electorate needs to know whether this is the case and how party policies are influenced by the interests of their donors. This is called transparency and accountability. On the other hand, political parties have an interest in keeping the identity of their donors confidential as far as possible as many donors don’t want this disclosed. ..
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