Author(s): Mbasa Mvenene
This paper examines the influence of private donations on political office bearers, public officials, and bureaucrats, mainly from the African National Congress (ANC). The paper further evaluates the implications for South Africa’s democracy. The paper analyses cases recently revealed in the State Capture Commission Report (SCCR), which shows a clear nexus of influence between donations received and benefits given in the form of high-value government tenders. The main line of argument in this paper is that the principle of political equality and the robustness of the democratic system (accountable, responsive, open) is discredited and undermined by a conflict of interests induced by private donations that build patron-client relations between the ANC in power – the chief holder of government tenders – and big businesses that donate generously to the ANC. The paper is qualitative in approach. It is a case study based on secondary data, which is thematically analysed. The paper found that private donations to the ANC build patron-client relations that corrode democratic quality and the principle of political equality.