The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has published the declaration of political party donations for the fourth quarter of the 2025/26 financial year. The report covers the period from 1 January to 31 March 2026. This comes ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections (LGE), scheduled for 4 November 2026.
This reporting cycle continues under the revised disclosure framework approved by the National Assembly, which increased the disclosure threshold from R100 000 to R200 000, and the annual upper donation limit from R15 million to R30 million.
Five political parties made declarations during the reporting period, including late and cumulative declarations.
- Democratic Alliance – R57 317 303
- RISE Mzansi – R30 000 000
- ActionSA – R9 910 432
- Alliance of Citizens for Change (A.C.C.) – R440 500
- Build One South Africa (Bosa) – R113 794
Political parties collectively declared R97 227 735 during the fourth quarter. The total donations quantum comprises R94 778 903 in monetary donations and R2 448 832 in-kind donations.
The R30 million declaration made by RISE Mzansi represents a conversion of a previous loan into a donation.
The IEC is yet to clarify the terms of the conversation.
“The Electoral Commission will further engage with the party on this loan-donation conversion to ascertain compliance with the requirements of the Act,” said the IEC.
IEC reveals donations
According to the IEC, ActionSA received R5 million from businessman Martin Moshal. It also receives R2.9 million from party leader Herman Mashaba, among others.
The DA declared the highest donation quantum for the reporting period, amounting to R57 317 303.55 and representing almost 60% of all declared donations. This comprised R54 868 471 in monetary donations and R2 448 832.50 in in-kind donations.
Major donations to the DA, ranging from R10 million to R13 million, were received from regular party donors. These include Main Street 1564 Pty Ltd; Fynbos Ekwiteit (Pty) Ltd; Ms M Slack; and Fynbos Kapitaal Proprietary Limited. Other significant donations to the DA R4 million from Mr G Ryan; R3 million from Mr D Barnes; R1.27 million from the Danish Liberal Democracy Programme; and Various other donations ranging from R225 000 to R532 000.
The largest in-kind donation, valued at R1 755 777 was received from Voices of South Africa Foundation NPC.
RISE Mzansi declared a single donation valued at R30 million from an entity known as ‘We Are The People’.
Alliance of Citizens for Change (A.C.C.) declared a monetary donation of R440 500 from the party’s founding leader, Masizole Mnqasela. The donation was made in February 2025 and is thus declared approximately one year late. The party has been issued with a directive to provide representations regarding the late disclosure.
BOSA declared an in-kind donation valued at R113 794 from Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) NPC.
“Although below the disclosure threshold, cumulative donations from the same donor triggered the reporting requirement. The donation related to governance and political development support activities,” said the IEC.
Late donations to ANC
The IEC said Valumax Projects donated R500 000 to the Ekurhuleni Branch of the ANC on 20 March 2026. Captrust Investments (Pty) Ltd donated R270 000 to the Veterans League on 16 April 2026.
“These donations totalling R770 000 have not been acknowledged or declared by the party at the time of publication. Furthermore, two late donations to the ANC, totalling R10 501 230.21, were made by the party,” said the IEC.
These include R501 230.21 from Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) on 31 July 2025 and R10 million from Botho Botho Commercial Enterprises (Pty) Ltd on 15 December 2025.
“While many of the donations declared in this report predate the formal announcement of the 2026 LGE, the size and magnitude of the declarations demonstrate that the election season is firmly underway,” said the IEC.
“The Electoral Commission anticipates that both the value and volume of donations will continue to increase, potentially exponentially, as the election date approaches and political campaigning intensifies.”
