Finally, the completely unacceptable would be kickbacks from recipients of government contracts and other largesse, diverting state resources to the governing party through front organizations, and donations from foreign sources such as business owners, multinationals and governments. Of the above, the most prominent in Africa in terms of size and frequency are donations (of various types, including those by founders of political parties and foreigners), corrupt kickbacks, state subventions and returns on business investments, in that order. In Zimbabwe opposition parties struggle for consistent support from business owners who would rather donate to the ruling party which can deliver prompt returns than risk the vengeance and vindictiveness that is associated with ZANU PF when its paths are crossed. With the sanctions and the fallout between London and Harare, any business owner who decides to finance any opposition party in the country, would just possibly be an unusually committed democrat, because it is a high-risk game for their business. 6: Reforming the Regulatory Framework for Political Parties in Zimbabwe This paper supports Sachikonye’s apt observation that strong and sustainable democracy is dependent on wellfunctioning political parties because they are crucial actors in bringing together diverse interests, recruiting and presenting candidates, and developing competing policy proposals that provide people with a choice (2006, 37). Political parties therefore need public support in order for them to be able to contest in elections. Electoral participation demands huge financial, human and organisational resources, hence the need for well-crafted and targeted public subsidies. There is nothing inherently wrong with registration of political parties per se, i.e. in principle, registration is in and of itself, unproblematic but only if it is done in good faith. It should not be informed by the alleged need to safeguard national security. The registration of parties must also be done by a strictly impartial and inclusive body of publicspirited citizens who have no partisan affiliations. Representation in such an agency should be cross-national and cross-sectional but including nominees of the political party community, representatives of civil society – especially but not exclusively religious groups and academia, the private sector and the government. The stress must be that such people must be of unquestionably high integrity. In addition, the registration of political parties should be tied to public funding of credible parties as defined in national legislation. In other words, parties that do not wish to participate in elections and therefore to be considered for receive public funding should not be compelled to register. It should also be accepted that electoral participation is a public function and therefore those parties participating in elections should be subsidized using a formula that filters out frivolous parties that see electoral participation not as a public function but as an entrepreneurial economic activity. This will discourage rent-seeking behaviour on the part of political entrepreneurs. Further, public funding of parties and candidates participating in elections must be for electoral participation only and not for subsidizing party activities. Political parties must be able to fund their own operations outside the electoral arena. More specific recommendations on public funding are:  The registration of political parties that wish to receive public funding for participating in elections. Legislation should define what a “registered political party” is. For instance, the Canada Elections Expenses Act defines a registered political party as a political party which was either represented in the House of Commons on the day before the dissolution of Parliament immediately preceding the election, or 30 days before polling day had officially nominated candidates in at least 50 electoral districts in Canada. A definition appropriate to the Zimbabwe situation which has two partly elective chambers would have to be worked out; 26