ActionSA had the most reason to laugh all the way to the bank between January and March, as it was the party that declared the largest amount of donations to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC).

The party, along with the African National Congress (ANC) and Democratic Alliance (DA), declared donations totalling just under R6-million for the period between January and March, the fourth quarter of the 2022–2023 financial year.

ActionSA reported donations worth R3 730 000, while the ANC and the DA disclosed R1 996 880 and R259 103.83, respectively, according to a statement from the IEC.

"ActionSA's donations were received from three different donors, all of which are individual rather than corporate donors," according to the statement.

Dr BB Mabizela donated R105 000, Chris du Toit R125 000 and Martin Moshal R3.5-million.

The IEC said, "Martin Moshal is a repeat donor to ActionSA who has previously made donations to the same party valued at R11 000 000."

The Ichikowitz Family Foundation donated R1.5-million to the ANC and the Education and Training Unit (ETU) for Democracy and Development R496 880.

The former is a Johannesburg-based entity founded in 2010, while the latter is a non-profit organisation that offers training, facilitation, materials development and strategic planning services.

ETU's donation was an in-kind donation in the form of payment to printers towards the cost of 10 000 copies of the ANC National Policy Conference Discussion Documents. The donation was received in the previous quarter, but declared late.

"The party has been issued with a direction in terms of section 15 of the Act requesting the submission of written reasons why the declaration was submitted later than the regulated deadline," said the IEC.

The DA received an in-kind donation from a "repeat international donor", as the IEC put it, called the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF), of R139 103.83. Throughout the financial year, FNF donated R2 926 144.86 to the DA.

"The second donor is an entity known as Polyoak Packaging (Pty) Ltd, with a monetary donation of R120 000. The latter is a South African business entity that specialises in the design and manufacture of rigid plastic packaging for food, beverage and industrial applications. The donor has previously made a donation of the same amount to the party," said the IEC.

The Multi-Party Democracy Fund didn’t receive any contributions during the quarter.

"The commission will continue to engage individuals and entities, and it is hoped that with the 2024 elections fast approaching, South African corporates will realise the importance of supporting multi-party democracy through funding of political parties."

The unaudited amount of direct donations to political parties during the 2022-2023 financial year is approximately R134-million, about R11-million short of the previous year's audited figure of R145-million.