DA LEADER Helen Zille's unprecedented step of revealing the identity of a party funder "will not" lead to drawbacks in its efforts to raise campaign funds.
So says the party's chief executive, Jonathan Moakes, who yesterday told Sowetan that long-time donors had not registered complaints nor threatened to pull out from the party.
Moakes said the party had decided to reveal alleged donor Stephen Nel's identity to ward off criticism that it had knowingly accepted R300 000 from the Gupta family - "benefactors of President Jacob Zuma, his family and the ANC".
However, Moakes maintained that the decision was a "once-off" and would not be repeated.
"It is completely a once-off decision and we took it purely because of the misinformation in the media."
Asked whether revealing the identity of a donor would deter prospective donors - especially since political parties are in the process of launching their campaigns for next year's election - Moakes said it would not.
"We took the decision very rationally and, as already noted, it was a once-off decision. We have always maintained the strictest confidentiality when dealing with donors and the same will apply with future funders."
The revelation that Zille accepted Gupta money, in 2009, has sparked a war of words between Zille and the DA, on one hand, and the ANC, government and the Gupta family on the other.
But she maintains having accepted the donation from Nel, an executive with Sahara Computers - owned by the Guptas - rather than from the Guptas.
She said in the statement: "When companies decide not to donate to a party, their senior executives sometimes do so in their personal capacity."
In a statement over the weekend, the DA claimed Nel made out two separate cheques of R200000 and R100000 at the Gupta's Johannesburg home and Sahara's Midrand offices, respectively.
The Gupta family maintains having donated the money to Zille and the DA, something that has seen her fend off claims of hypocrisy after launching attacks against the government for spending taxpayer millions on the Gupta's The New Agenewspaper.
molatlhwao@sowetan.co.za
It's a once-off, says DA
DA LEADER Helen Zille's unprecedented step of revealing the identity of a party funder "will not" lead to drawbacks in its efforts to raise campaign funds.
So says the party's chief executive, Jonathan Moakes, who yesterday told Sowetan that long-time donors had not registered complaints nor threatened to pull out from the party.
Moakes said the party had decided to reveal alleged donor Stephen Nel's identity to ward off criticism that it had knowingly accepted R300 000 from the Gupta family - "benefactors of President Jacob Zuma, his family and the ANC".
However, Moakes maintained that the decision was a "once-off" and would not be repeated.
"It is completely a once-off decision and we took it purely because of the misinformation in the media."
Asked whether revealing the identity of a donor would deter prospective donors - especially since political parties are in the process of launching their campaigns for next year's election - Moakes said it would not.
"We took the decision very rationally and, as already noted, it was a once-off decision. We have always maintained the strictest confidentiality when dealing with donors and the same will apply with future funders."
The revelation that Zille accepted Gupta money, in 2009, has sparked a war of words between Zille and the DA, on one hand, and the ANC, government and the Gupta family on the other.
But she maintains having accepted the donation from Nel, an executive with Sahara Computers - owned by the Guptas - rather than from the Guptas.
She said in the statement: "When companies decide not to donate to a party, their senior executives sometimes do so in their personal capacity."
In a statement over the weekend, the DA claimed Nel made out two separate cheques of R200000 and R100000 at the Gupta's Johannesburg home and Sahara's Midrand offices, respectively.
The Gupta family maintains having donated the money to Zille and the DA, something that has seen her fend off claims of hypocrisy after launching attacks against the government for spending taxpayer millions on the Gupta's The New Agenewspaper.
molatlhwao@sowetan.co.za
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