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Ruling party on a drive to raise more money

THE ANC has some quirky ideas to raise funds over the next five years...

Cellphone airtime, funeral policies and the running of conference facilities are among the revenue streams considered. This is contained in the party's financial report delivered during the ANC's elective conference.

Fundraising is the party's most important source of revenue, contributing as much as 72% of its R1.49-billion in income since January 2008. But tougher economic times have put fundraising under pressure.

The report urged the party to make sure that the Political Party Funding Bill is passed. A grant from the Independent Electoral Commission - based on the party's share of the electorate - currently accounts for 15% of revenue.

Apart from giving itself and other political parties access to more public funds, the report showed that the ANC sees "a need to leverage on the quantity" of its membership.

The report suggested that members contribute 3% of their income to the party every month. Membership fees account for only 3% of the party's revenue.

Some of the ideas put forward to raise funds include:

  • ANC merchandise - with which the organisation wants to look at "exploiting the 'brand' that is already a hit in the market place";
  • Loyalty programmes at large retailers - where it sees an opportunity "to use its membership base to extract value"; and
  • Provincially managed business ventures in conferencing and hotels.

The conference will today announce what model the ruling party should adopt.

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