Bloemfontein – The Constitutional Court will hear an application on Tuesday by a non-governmental organisation seeking to determine whether Parliament has failed in its constitutional obligation to get political parties to disclose the source of their private funding.

Currently, political parties are not obliged to disclose their funders.

The applicant in the matter, My Vote Counts NPC, is calling for a more inclusive, transparent and accountable political system.

Forming the basis of their case was the constitutional right to access information and the right to vote.

The group contends that citizens are entitled to access information about private funding to political parties and Parliament has a constitutional obligation to enact specific legislation to mandate this disclosure, in addition to the wide general provisions of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia).

Parliament, represented by the Speaker of the National Assembly and chair of the National Council of Provinces, was opposing the application.

It claimed that Paia adequately and exhaustively covered the constitutional right of access to information and the disclosure of the private funding of political parties may be requested through the existing legislation.

It also planned to argue that it had enacted several pieces of legislation that promoted accountable and transparent governance, therefore it had no obligation to enact the specific legislation sought by My Vote Counts.

All political parties currently represented in Parliament are cited as respondents, but none of them opposes the application.

They have agreed that the Constitution confers exclusive jurisdiction the Constitutional Court.

Kimberley – Four pupils from a Northern Cape school who are facing charges of raping a fellow teen have been expelled from the school pending an investigation, Netwerk24 reported on Tuesday.

The four have been charged for raping the 18-year-old boy in the school’s hostel. The incident was caught on cellphone cameras and one of the videos has gone viral.

“The pupils involved received notice of expulsion and an order to appear before a disciplinary committee. They have also received the charges,” said Sydney Stander, education department spokesperson.

The victim was tied with rope to a steel-framed bed, beaten, smeared with a white substance thought to be soap or shaving cream, and then raped with the handle of a broomstick.

About 20 boys watched and laughed while the victim cried out for help.

The attack is suspected to have been racially motivated because the four, aged between 14 and 18, are white and the boy is coloured.

It is suspected they attacked the teen last Sunday after finding out his mother was white, reported City Press.

They appeared in court last Friday and have been granted bail. They will be back in court on 5 March.