GOOD Statement by Brett Herron,
GOOD Secretary-General & Member of Parliament
26 May 2024
The GOOD Party has written to the organisation, We Are The People, for clarity about its donation of R500 000 to the party last month. GOOD accepted, and declared the donation to the IEC in terms of the Political Party Funding Act, but recent media reports have raised concerns about the integrity of the transaction.
It has come to light that R15m of the R16m (or nearly 94%) We Are The People has donated to political parties went to just one party, which suggests We Are the People may be an undeclared funding vehicle for that party.We Are The People’s website does not state when the organisation was established, what type of legal entity it is, who serves on its board, or what processes it follows to raise and determine the distribution of funds.
The origin of the funds disbursed by We Are The People is unknown.
The Political Party Funding Act was intended to regulate and ensure transparency around the funding of political parties. This is to protect our democracy from private interests secretly funding political agendas, and to prevent corruption.
“Whereas a handful of parties receive tens of millions of Rands from a handful of wealthy individuals and Trusts, GOOD depends for its survival on modest donations from its members and supporters. In this context, your donation was an important and unexpected boost for our organising and campaigning, for which we were grateful, indeed,” GOOD Party Secretary-General wrote to We Are The People’s Ms Londiwe Mntambo today.
“However, recent media reporting has raised concerns for us about the donation and whether we should accept it. Please would you provide us with information to enable us to assure our members of the integrity of the process in respect of the Political Party Funding Act,” Herron said.
Media Enquiries:
Janke Tolmay, GOOD Media Manager
Cell: 073 367 1223
Email: janke@forgood.org.za
Brett Herron, GOOD Secretary-General
Cell: 082 518 3264
Email: bretth@forgood.org.za