The African National Congress (ANC) is facing renewed pressure over its financial troubles, as its coalition partners — ActionSA and the Democratic Alliance (DA) — have called on the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) to investigate the party’s finances following a writ of execution order obtained by Ezulweni Investments.
Both parties are demanding transparency, with the DA urging the ANC to immediately disclose all its financial benefits and alleging that the ruling party is attempting to conceal sources of funding.
The ANC has been embroiled in a long-standing legal dispute with KwaZulu-Natal-based printing and marketing firm Ezulweni Investments, which supplied election campaign materials to the party in 2019. The ANC reportedly failed to pay for the materials, resulting in court judgments ordering it to settle a debt exceeding R102 million.
Ezulweni secured two court victories — one in September 2020 and another in June 2022 — before the Supreme Court of Appeal upheld the ruling last month. The ANC initially indicated it would appeal to the Constitutional Court but later claimed that an agreement had been reached with Ezulweni to prevent embarrassment ahead of the 2024 elections.
However, recent developments show that Ezulweni has obtained a writ of execution to attach ANC assets — including movable goods and incorporeal property at its Luthuli House headquarters — in an attempt to recover over R85 million.
An ANC insider told the Sunday Times that the party could face liquidation if the order is enforced.
“We are in the red financially, and I suspect our campaign for the elections will suffer if Ezulweni executes the order. Fundraising has not done enough to pull us out, and Gwen [Ramokgopa] needs to pull a rabbit from the hat and fast,” the source said.
ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont has since written to the IEC demanding a probe into whether the ANC violated political funding laws by failing to disclose financial support related to the Ezulweni deal.
Beaumont claimed that ActionSA’s financial experts found irregularities in the 2023 settlement agreement, alleging the contract was inflated by R65 million. He said the inflated amount was used to offset the ANC’s outstanding debt, which effectively amounted to a donation in kind exceeding the R15 million annual cap stipulated by the Political Party Funding Act.
“By concluding an agreement that saw debt exceeding R145 million settled through a R65 million contract, the ANC and Ezulweni violated the Act. Such a deal cannot be considered commercial and should have been declared as a donation,” Beaumont stated.
Meanwhile, the DA said it will submit a formal Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) request to the ANC, demanding disclosure of all entities and individuals who received election materials through the Ezulweni contract.
“The IEC must determine whether the supply of materials to these ‘strategic partners’ and ‘alliances’ amounts to undeclared funding under the Political Party Funding Act,” the DA said in a statement.
The party further urged the ANC to publicly reveal all parties benefiting from its so-called “strategic alliances” programme, warning that concealing funding sources undermines democracy and breaches electoral laws.
“Any attempt to hide funding or influence is unacceptable. South Africans deserve transparency to make informed choices,” the DA concluded.
