ATM leader Vuyo Zungula. The ATM says it will pay the fine in order to deal with the matter swiftly. Picture: File
The African Transformation Movement (ATM) says as an organisation that believes in accountability, it will pay the fine that was imposed on it by the Electoral Court on Friday.
ATM’s spokesperson Zama Ntshona told The Star on Tuesday that the organisation was moving with speed to try to make amends.
“This is something that we are rectifying with speed so that we keep to our values, and one of our values is a value of accountability and we will pay the fine so that we can deal with this matter swiftly,” Ntshona said.
He continued to say that as an organisation that believes in moral leadership, they will definitely fix where they have fallen short.
This comes after the party failed to submit its financial statements to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) as it was required by law in terms of the Political Party Funding Act (PPFA).
The Electoral Court had imposed a R40 000 fine on them and six other political parties which were represented in the National Assembly.
These parties include Cope, National Freedom Party (NFP), PAC, and African Independent Congress (AIC).
The PPFA came into effect in 2021, and it sought to make sure that every registered political party keeps records of their income, such as private donations and membership fees.
According to the act, it was also required that political parties receiving donations exceeding R100 000 must be disclosed to the IEC.
Therefore, the IEC would publish all donations exceeding the R100 000 threshold on a quarterly basis.
These requirements also apply to independent candidates.
Every party represented at the National Assembly and at the provincial legislature receives grants from the IEC to contest the elections.
However, the amounts of money a party may receive vary based on the size of its representation in the National Assembly and provincial legislatures.
The PPFA also requires every party to appoint an auditor who must provide an annual opinion to the IEC regarding whether it has complied with the requirements of the act.
According to the regulations, the party’s accounting officer must submit its records and financial statements to an auditor no later than three months after the end of the financial year.
The accounting officer must then provide this information and the audit opinion to the IEC no later than six months after the end of the financial year.
The PPFA also states that the IEC can take steps against a party that fails to comply and may request the Electoral Court to impose an administrative fine or to suspend funding from the IEC.
The Star
sipho.jack@inl.co.za
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