Here’s WHO donated to the DA: The biggest backers revealed

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has declared more than R104 million in donations for the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year.

Aug 28, 2026 - 09:00

Here’s WHO donated to the DA: The biggest backers revealed

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has declared more than R104 million in donations for the first quarter of the 2026/27 financial year, with two companies alone accounting for R55 million of the party’s cash haul.

The figures, released by the Electoral Commission (IEC), cover donations received between 1 April and 30 June 2026, as political parties build their war chests ahead of the 4 November 2026 local government elections.

The DA declared R104 034 185.25 in total donations – R98.75 million in monetary contributions and R5.28 million in donations made in-kind.

That represented roughly 89% of all compliant political donations declared by the four parties that reported during the quarter.

But who exactly was behind the DA’s huge fundraising total?

Fynbos companies lead the way

The two biggest contributors were Fynbos Ekwiteit (Pty) Ltd, which donated R30 million, and Fynbos Kapitaal (Pty) Ltd, which contributed another R25 million.

Together, the two companies provided R55 million – more than half of the DA’s declared monetary donations for the quarter.

Recent reporting has linked both Fynbos entities to Capitec founder Michiel le Roux, although the IEC declaration lists the companies as the donors.

The size of the contributions is also notable because South Africa’s revised political funding rules increased the maximum annual donation permitted from a single donor from R15 million to R30 million.

The other major DA donors

The IEC’s declaration shows a number of other substantial contributions.

The DA received:

R10 million from D Barnes
R5 million from R Slack Diamond
R5 million from J Slack Jell
R5 million from M Moshal
R5 million from Lombard Consolidated (Pty) Ltd
R2.5 million from Kerry Road Trust
R2 million from Predator Securities (Pty) Ltd

These donations alone amount to R39.5 million.

Combined with the R55 million from Fynbos Ekwiteit and Fynbos Kapitaal, the listed major contributors account for R94.5 million of the DA’s monetary donations.

Millions more came in through non-cash support

The DA’s fundraising was not limited to cash.

The party declared R5.28 million in in-kind donations, including services, advertising, staffing, legal assistance and campaign-related assets.

Among the biggest were:

R2.78 million from Voices of South Africa Foundation NPC
R1.16 million from the Make a Difference Trust (MAD)
R815,891.08 from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation
R528,655 from Mr and Mrs T Madilonga, relating to two vehicles made available to the party

The IEC included these contributions in the DA’s overall R104 million declaration.

DA funding dwarfs other declarations

The scale of the DA’s fundraising becomes clearer when compared with the other parties that made declarations during the quarter.

ActionSA declared R5.5 million, including R5 million from businessman Martin Moshal.

The Labour Party of South Africa declared R5 million from the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU).

RISE Mzansi declared R2.25 million from Ungani Investments and Captrust Investments.

Together, the four parties declared R116.78 million, with the DA responsible for the overwhelming majority.

Election spending expected to rise

The donations come as parties enter the final stretch before the November local government elections.

The IEC expects political fundraising and campaign spending to increase as parties spend more on advertising, digital campaigns, political events, voter mobilisation, transport and campaign materials.

The Commission has also warned that it will closely monitor large donations, late declarations, discrepancies between donor and party disclosures, third-party expenditure, foreign funding and proof of transactions.

For the DA, however, the first-quarter figures already reveal a substantial financial advantage – and the biggest question is not simply how much the party raised, but who is putting millions of rands behind its campaign ahead of the 2026 local elections.