| (1 ) | Every political party to which moneys are allocated from the Fund— |
| (a) | must keep, with a bank registered in the Republic, a separate banking account into which all moneys so allocated to the party must be deposited; |
| (b) | must appoint an office-bearer or official of that party as its accounting officer with regard to all moneys from time to time allocated to that party from the Fund. The accounting officer’s responsibility is to account for the moneys so allocated to that party, and includes, in addition to any other duties imposed by this Act, the duty to ensure the party’s compliance with the requirements of this Act, and, in particular, to ensure that those moneys are not paid out for a purpose not authorised by this Act; and |
| (c) | is accountable to the Commission in respect of all moneys so allocated to that party. |
[Section 6(1) substituted by General Laws Amendment Act, 2008, by section 2 of Notice No. 20, GG31787, dated 9 January 2009]
| (2) | That accounting officer must, for each financial year for which moneys have been allocated to the relevant political party from the Fund, keep separate books and records of account, in the prescribed manner, in respect of those moneys and all transactions involving those moneys. |
| (3) | Within two months after the end of a financial year for which moneys have been allocated to any political party from the Fund, that accounting officer must prepare a statement showing all amounts received by the party from the Fund during that financial year and its application of those moneys, as well as the purposes for which the various amounts have been applied, whereafter that accounting officer must have that statement and those books and records of account audited by a public accountant and auditor registered and practicing as such in terms of the Public Accountants’ and Auditors’ Act 1991 (Act No. 80 of 1991). |
| (4) | An auditor who has performed an audit contemplated in subsection (3), must in the auditor’s report express an opinion as to whether the allocated moneys were spent for purposes not authorised by this Act. |
| (5) | The auditor’s report and audited statement must be submitted to the Commission by that accounting officer within three months after the end of that financial year. |
| (6) | Despite subsection (3), the Auditor-General may at any time audit any political party’s books and records of account and financial statements relating to moneys allocated to the party from the Fund. |
| (a) | Subject to paragraph (b), the Commission— |
| (i) | may order that the allocation of moneys to a political party from the Fund be suspended if satisfied on reasonable grounds that the party has failed to comply with any requirement of this Act; and |
| (ii) | must terminate the suspension if satisfied, in the light of the party’s subsequent conduct, that the suspension is no longer justified. |
| (b) | The suspension of a political party’s allocations may be ordered in terms of paragraph (a) only if the Commission— |
| (i) | by written notice has informed the party of the proposed suspension and of the reasons therefor; and |
| (ii) | has called on the party to furnish reasons, within the period specified in the notice (which may not be shorter than 30 days as from the date of the notice). |
