ActionSA has announced a countrywide fundraising initiative, calling for sympathisers and members to publicly donate funds towards their campaign coffers.
This despite declaring the most donations for the fourth quarter of the 2022/2023 financial year.
The party received a whopping R3.73m from three donors, all of whom are individual rather than corporate.
“The individual donors are Dr BB Mabizela (R105,000), Chris du Toit (R125,000) and Martin Moshal (R3.5m). Moshal is a repeat donor to ActionSA who has previously made donations valued at R11m.”
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) said three parties disclosed more than R5m in funding from donors during the fourth quarter, from January 1 to March 31.
ActionSA chairperson Michael Beaumont believes the party needs a well of resources to campaign against the bigger political roleplayers ahead of the 2024 national and provincial elections.
"The idea of crowdfunding is not a new initiative. It is something that takes place all around the world. It basically changes the model of fundraising where traditionally you would get a single large donation, whereas this is asking thousands of people to give you a relatively smaller donation," he said.
Beaumont said that kind of funding forced the status quo in a country that doesn't necessarily like the status quo.
ActionSA is not funded by the ordinary taxpayer, like the established political parties who receive their share of R1.3bn funding each year
— Michael Beaumont, ActionSA chair
"ActionSA is not funded by the ordinary taxpayer, like the established political parties who receive their share of R1.3bn funding each year. This is done to keep newcomers like ActionSA from competing with them."
He said while fundraising efforts have "gone well, as disclosed, and we continue to be competitive in that regard, we are asking South Africans from all walks of life to make a small donation because small amounts add up to incredible amounts of money".
Two parties are in decline but great sums of money go to them every year, he said.
"What the fundraising disclosure did not show you is that the DA and the ANC would have received somewhere between R30m and R60m at the end of every month, courtesy of the taxpayer. Whatever we are able to raise through these private donations is completely eclipsed by what taxpayer funding of those political parties provides them.
"Because we are privately funded, we constantly live at the risk of whether we are going to be able to fund our campaign.
"In 2019 the ANC spent R1bn on their campaign, the DA spent R600m. The EFF was able to raise about R150m, and this is what we are up against. We've disclosed just shy of R4m."
Beaumont said the country has a very rural geography and unlike some political parties with a constituency limited to one area, ActionSA needs to campaign in all communities, townships and suburbs.
"We have to raise a very large sum of money to be competitive."
The party was busy finalising their election budget and their total target would be developed over time, he added.
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