[This story is extremely important. There are many issues herein. I remember, before the 1999 elections that I saw an article saying that the ANC had a “war chest” with a staggering R1.2 billion for the coming election!! I remember too, that the ANC was receiving money from foreign countries directly into its war chest. The ANC was rolling in the money.

So why is the ANC now bankrupt? My guess is that the Western world and the ANC’s business allies, etc might be dumping the ANC! If this is indeed the case then its EXCELLENT. It means the world is starting to turn their backs on the ANC. The ANC’s flirtation with the West may be ending. The West may already have dropped the ANC. So this could add to the impetus to drive the ANC to a more radical approach.

Now, if the Democratic Alliance had any true balls, then it and others would stand up to this ANC move and would railroad it – because by doing so, the ANC would be the one which is left the most in the lurch.

But, what’s the bet that the ANC will get other parties to go along with this, just like it did with the scumbag floor-crossing legislation? It will promise everyone money (even though the ANC will be the biggest beneficiary)… In effect, the ANC could lead us towards the wholesale plundering of taxpayer money to fund our useless political parties!

Let me point out that what the ANC doing is exactly the same as what Mugabe has done in Zimbabwe. He’s been plundering in the same manner and the same basis, by using state funds to actually fund his evil little communist regime!

So you can see where this country is heading now! If this legislation is passed, and they start plundering the coffers to fund themselves, then it will be just one more step closer to us being a Mugabe-like state! Jan]

ANC WANTS R310-MILLION FROM TAXPAYERS FOR ITSELF

THE MERCURY (Fri. 20/10/06) Angela Quintal “ Political Editor.

The cash-strapped ANC has its sights set on parliament and the taxpayer effectively bankrolling its party work, and helping it secure another election victory. The proposal has already been described by one minority party MP as œwholesale plunder. The estimated cost would be at least R310-million.

Included in this figure is R3-million to provide drivers and security for MP™s over the age of 70, and R8.56-million for the security of women MP™s.

Other political parties in parliament would also benefit, should the ANC proposal “ tabled at Wednesday™s multiparty chief whip forum “ be accepted. However, the decision on how much would be allocated in next year™s parliamentary budget is ultimately that of the Treasury.

The official line on the need for more funds is that it is necessary to beef up the capacity of MP™s to do constituency work and conduct oversight of the executive.

ANC officials in parliament could not be reached for comment yesterday, while the party™s national spokesperson, Smuts Ngonyama, said he did not know anything about the proposal. The Institute for Democracy in South Africa™s Judith February said last night that the ANC™s proposal was a wish list and should be viewed as such.

œThe (parliamentary) budget has not been spent adequately over the past years, and so the parties will have to prove that they can spend the money in the allocated time. Of course, constituencies need to be funded adequately, but again it™s about using the resources optimally, she said.

Parliament™s annual budget already tops R1-billion, but the proposal for more money, if accepted, would see it expanded by another estimated third just for the ANC alone. Given the ANC™s huge majority in both houses of parliament, the ruling party would benefit the most from the proposed deal. It has 279 MP™s in the 400 Member National Assembly and 36 of the 54 permanent delegates in the National Council of Provinces.

This funding request would be in addition to the Independent Electoral Commission funding political parties receive.

The Represented Political Parties Fund stood at R74.1-million last year, with the ANC getting R49.3“million and the balance divided among 16 smaller parties.

The largest chunk of funding the ANC wants is for constituency work, which an opposition MP said gave it the funds to effectively employ œparty organisers.

o R180-million for constituency allowances.
o R27-million for 27 parliamentary co-ordinating offices.
o R12.6-million for security in constituency and co-ordinating offices.
o R2.2-million for a parliamentary constituency head office.
o R64.4-million for support staff and operational costs.
o R10.6-million for strategic planning workshops.
o R3-million for security and drivers for members of parliament older than 70.
o R8.5-million for security for women MP™s.
o R1.9-million for party leadership support.