By Joseph E Kamara
In July this year, American businessman, Mark Heiligman in an open
letter alleged that in 2007 he gave Vice President Sam-Sumana US$
34,000 as loan towards the runoff presidential election efforts of
now president Ernest Bai Koroma and the vice president. (See
Politico: Sierra Leone Vice President denies damning allegations
Friday, July 27th, 2012).
The allegations by Heiligman have brought to the fore the issue of
campaign financing. In almost every election, accusations abound
about the source of the funding of our political parties. The late
Col. Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia,
Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso and Joseph Kabila Kabange are but
some of the foreign heads of state who have been accused of
contributing to one or the other of Sierra Leone's political parties.
The list of foreign businessmen contributing to various parties and
candidates is even lengthier. This is not unique to Sierra Leone.
Nigeria’s Sani Abacha was alleged to have made huge donations to the elections
campaign of Jerry Rawlings in Ghana in 1996. In the Niger
presidential elections in October 1999, Africa Confidential reported
that President Issoufou Mahamadou received substantial support from
France. In almost all its former colonies, France is regularly
accused of interfering and contributing to one party or the other.
The law in Sierra Leone in respect of campaign financing is very clear.
Section 19 of the Political Parties Act explicitly provides that the
source of funds of a political party shall be limited to
contributions or donations, whether in cash or in kind, of persons
who are entitled to be registered as voters in SierraLeone. The Act
provides for the Political Parties Registration Commission(PPRC) to
make regulations limiting the amount of a contribution to a political
party and the disclosure of the information that may limit the
influence of money in the political process. To the best of my
knowledge, these regulations have not yet been promulgated by the
PPRC.
Section 31 of the Constitution provides that every citizen of Sierra Leone
being 18 years of age and above and of sound mind shall have the
right to vote, and accordingly shall be entitled to be registered as
a voter for the purposes of public elections and referenda. The
present provisions allow Sierra Leoneans in the Diaspora whether
registered or not – as long as they are “entitled” to register
to make contributions or donations. This is an increasingly important
source of funding across the continent.
Like most of Africa, campaign financing is under-regulated. Most political
parties are funded by the leader or the main benefactor. A recent
study conducted by International IDEA Funding of Political Parties
and Election Campaigns shows that “fewer than one in five African
states have comprehensive laws to govern the raising of revenue,
detail permitted sources of revenue, prohibit others (such as foreign
and corporate donations), or impose ceilings and specify sanctions.
Laws demanding the disclosure of sources of party funds and audited
accounts – the minimum regulation required to grapple with issues
associated with the difficult relationship between political
financing and liberal democratic governance – exist only in a tiny
minority of African states.’
The report points out that the law in Mali bans foreign donations but has
no provisions regarding other aspects of political financing. Benin
limits campaign expenditure and has provisions on public funding but
not on other aspects of political financing. Ghana has disclosure
provisions and bans foreign donations, but the relevant Act is silent
on other equally pertinent issues of political financing, such as
limits on campaign expenditure. Kenya used to have limits on campaign
spending by parties and candidates (although admittedly these were
universally ignored), but removed them in 1992, before the first
multi-party elections to be held there since the 1970s.
If Sierra Leone and most of Africa are to strengthen their nascent
democracies they need to seriously and urgently address the issue of
campaign financing. The manner in which our political parties are
funded is crucial to the quality of the democracy we will enjoy. True
it is very costly to establish, maintain and operate a political
party in Africa. Parties are required to have offices in every
district; it is an established fact that rents are exorbitant. Most
landlords don’t even want to rent to political parties because they
consider it very risky and in the event of violence there is every
likelihood that the premises will be destroyed. This risk means
higher rental costs. Purchasing vehicles, employing staff and top-up
charges are all extremely costly and require resources. In addition,
when political parties host rallies most people attend expecting
t-shirts, caps and other promotional materials which cost money.
They also expect lots of food and drinks. It is well known that one
of the main reasons Zainab Bangura’s Movement for Progress (MoP)
fared very badly in the 2002 elections was because she focused more
on writing a good manifesto instead of dishing out food and Le 5,000
notes.
How political parties finance their campaigns is critical in any
democratic election. The fact that parties need funding does not mean
that they must be unregulated. Regulations help strengthen and
develop political parties, to help them become responsible actors in
support of sustainable and effective democracy. It also prevents
abuse and the buying of influence in political parties by rich
corporations and/or wealthy individuals. It is therefore necessary to
limit the donations they can provide and obligate them to disclose
the same publicly so as not give them a controlling or undue
influence over the parties ans consequently the masses. This is one
way by which public confidence can be restored in the political
process.
The IDEA report also points out that regulation provides greater
transparency in political parties’ finances in an effort to reduce
political corruption. There are plenty of examples of corruption
linked with political funding. Those who contribute to parties see it
as an investment and expect to rip the rewards by hook or crook
should the party be elected. Much of the corruption we end up seeing
in Government has its roots in the illegitimate and secret promises
parties make to get funding by all means necessary to ensure that
they win the elections. The range from mining concessions to promises
of procurement contract and direct refund of contribution with
interest. It is therefore important for there to be at the very least
public disclosure of the names of the donor and the amount. This must
be vigorously monitored particularly after the elections.
The absence of any regulation distorts the playing field and undermines
our young democracy. Fair competition is a fundamental if implicit
principle of multiparty democracy. A balanced and equitable system of
party funding is an indispensable requirement for truly competitive
elections. If there is gross inequality of resources between the
parties, it raises major issues about the quality of the democracy.
This is usually the case for governing parties that use the fruits of
office and benefits of incumbency to acquire an unfair advantage.
Many promise to reform campaign finance rules when in opposition but
when they assume office fail to deliver it as they want to enjoy the
advantages that incumbency confers.
The provisions of the Political Parties Act are not being enforced and
are largely unknown by the populace. If we are going to consolidate
our fragile democracy, we will need to consider this issue more
seriously. Promulgating the necessary regulations should be a
priority. The PPRC must also work closely with the Anti Corruption
Commission, which manages the declaration of assets of all public
officials including members of the executive and parliament and their
families. The failure to seriously address these issues will only
deepen public mistrust about the invidious role of money in politics.
The newly appointed Chairman of PPRC has his workcut out for him.
(c) Politico 11/09/12
