POLITICAL FUNDING: Scathing judge slaps R90,000 fine on Good party for attempt to hide donation

A payment for T-shirts and other marketing materials has landed the Good party in hot water. The Electoral Court ruled on Wednesday that the party pay a R90,000 fine for trying to conceal a donation made in the run-up to the 2021 local government elections.

The Electoral Court in Bloemfontein has found the Good party and its secretary-general, Brett Herron, guilty of contravening the Political Party Funding Act for not declaring a R900,000 donation, made in the lead-up to the 2021 local government elections.

In a scathing judgment , the court found that the party had made a “deliberate attempt to conceal the donation” and then tried to explain the payment through “far-fetched and untenable” denials. The court made its ruling in chambers, off court papers, an issue Good intends to challenge on appeal.

The decision comes as Herron runs for Cape Town’s mayoral seat in a joint bid with Rise Mzansi.

The Electoral Court judgment surrounds an order of T-shirts and marketing materials the party made from Kairos Communications in the run-up to the 2021 municipal elections. Another company, Electrox Properties, paid R900,000 towards the total cost of R1,972 365.

The donation wasn’t disclosed to the Electoral Commission (IEC) by either the party or the companies involved. The scheme was revealed by Shaun August, a former party member who was expelled in May 2023. He rejoined the DA and in the same year disclosed the details of the deal to the IEC.

“Mr August was also the official at the Good party who, at the relevant time, was the person responsible for negotiating the procurement of the T-shirts and who was directly responsible for securing the donation. Importantly, his unequivocal assertion that the R900,000 was not paid by the Good party, but by a sponsor, was not seriously challenged by the party in their answering affidavit in this application,” Judge Leicester Adams wrote in the judgment.

Judge Adams noted that the IEC corroborated August’s initial report by conducting its own investigation into the payment. It found that while Good had ordered the T-shirts and marketing materials, Electrox Properties paid R900,000 to Incorp Trade and Investment CC, a company linked to Kairos Communications.

“Moreover, the payment of the R900,000 is confirmed by the invoice from Kairos Communications. In that regard, the evidence indicates that Electrox Properties paid R900,000 to Incorp Trade and Investment, but the paperwork recorded that the said sum was received by Kairos Communications.

“This, in my view, can safely be interpreted as Electrox Properties having made payment to Kairos Communications of R900,000 on behalf of the Good party,” the judgment said.

Adams was critical of Good’s response, saying the party’s explanation “should be rejected out of hand”.

“What is more, the denial by Electrox Properties of this payment to Kairos on behalf of the Good party rings hollow.