Kallie Kriel@kalliekriel
Reaction to @News24’s Ideologically Driven Hit Piece on @afriforum:
The News24 group donated millions of rand to the ANC. AfriForum did not.
AfriForum did not invest in a company called Thebe Stockbroking. Investment managers use Thebe and other platforms to invest in shares on the stock market. These other platforms are also compelled by the race obsessed ANC led government to implement BEE policies. It is virtually impossible to invest in shares on the JSE without some exposure to BEE compliant entities.
For those who would like to know how AfriForum actually spends its money:
Watch this video: youtu.be/mp-agx__p2g?si…
Read this article: politicsweb.co.za/news/afriforum…
For the record, below is part of the response I provided to the anti AfriForum activists posing as journalists at News24 when they requested comment regarding Thebe Stockbroking:
I place on record that News24 refused to answer AfriForum’s questions regarding its parent company’s donations of R8 million to the ANC between 2021 and 2025. These questions were aimed at determining whether News24 considers it justifiable that its parent company funds the ANC while numerous individuals in ANC leadership positions have been implicated in corruption.
This question is directly relevant to News24’s enquiries because reference is made to donations by Thebe Stockbroking, which is itself one of the ANC’s donors.
Donations to the ANC
Unlike News24’s parent company, which knowingly donated R8 million to the ANC between 2021 and 2025, AfriForum was obviously not aware in 2013 that Thebe would later make donations to the ANC. Had AfriForum known this, the organisation would have ensured that none of its investment managers made use of Thebe.
In any event, AfriForum had already decided in March 2023 to move its investments away from Thebe as part of a process to consolidate the organisation’s investment portfolio.
By contrast, News24’s parent company continues to donate money to the ANC.
In 2013, AfriForum’s Financial Committee invited investment managers to make presentations on their investment strategies. Following this process, André Laas was selected as one of several investment managers.
The focus was on selecting capable investment managers rather than the investment platforms through which they executed transactions. AfriForum’s funds were invested in shares listed on the stock exchange, not in Thebe.
Within South Africa’s financial sector, it is difficult to find an investment platform that is not subject to BEE requirements. Thebe Stockbroking was neither invited nor appointed by AfriForum. André Laas was.
Companies, including investment platforms, are compelled to implement race based policies. This makes it virtually impossible for organisations opposed to BEE to avoid all indirect or unintended dealings with BEE compliant entities. Fuel suppliers, retailers, service providers and many other businesses operate within the same policy framework.
BEE
AfriForum and Solidarity are unapologetically opposed to the use of race as a mechanism for enriching politically connected elites within the ANC’s sphere of influence.
Policies such as BEE should ultimately be judged by their outcomes rather than their stated intentions. These outcomes have included persistent poverty, unemployment and economic exclusion.
AfriForum’s position is therefore that socioeconomic circumstances, rather than race, should be used as the basis for addressing poverty and inequality in South Africa.
