Johannesburg - The Constitutional Court will on Tuesday hold a confirmation hearing of a High Court judgment that certain parts of the Protection of Access to Information Act are unconstitutional.
Last year the High Court in the Western Cape ruled that certain parts of the PAIA Act unconstitutional because they do not provide for the disclosure of private funding for political parties. It gave Parliament 18 months to make amendments to legislation.
The highest court in the land will have to decide whether existing legislation provides for the disclosure of funding for political parties.
The case was brought by lobby group My Vote Counts NPC. The group argues that the omission violates access to information and a person’s right to vote.
The court ruled that the act is unconstitutional, but refused to direct that the act be changed by Parliament to provide for the continuous recording of private political funding as this would be seen as prescribing to Parliament how it should implement legislation - infringing on the separation of powers.
The order given by the High Court cannot be enforced unless it is confirmed by the Constitutional Court.
Various political parties are respondents in the matter. Big political parties such as the DA and the ANC have spoken against forced revealing of political party funding.
Lobby group Right2Know said it will support My Vote Counts during its court appearance.
The lobby group said knowing the financial backers of political parties enables citizens to be informed to make decisions.
"The vast majority of funding for political parties comes from private sources, and currently not a single political party is willing to say who its funders are. In the current climate, corporations, wealthy individuals and even foreign governments can buy influence and favours from political parties across the aisles," said the organisation.