It is right to be angry at a corrupt government that appears to have been bought by looters and gangsters. An understandable reaction is to seek clarity on how a political party gets its funding. However, I would be circumspect about the call for transparent funding of parties. It is one thing to want to know who is funding the party in power, but probably more important to a democracy is the ability to fund the opposition parties without retribution. My fear is that if the funders of opposition parties are disclosed they could be persecuted, victimised or prejudiced. Free speech is a fundamental human right and I might choose to exercise that right by having a political party speak on my behalf. I do not believe that right should be compromised with a false hope — that by knowing how the majority party is funded we will somehow stop the corruptive rot. I would prefer we rely on other means to expose corrupt funding practices, rather than eroding our right to private political disse...
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