SABMiller, the world’s second largest brewer, had provided R9 million ($980, 000) to the country’s six political parties for use in next year’s general election, it said on Friday.

The brewer with South African origins said the financial support was part of the company’s on-going obligation to inspire the growth of South Africa’s democratic political system.

The money, which the company prefers to call a donation, will be distributed across the six largest political parties according to the number of seats they hold in the National Assembly.

These parties include the ruling African National Congress (ANC), the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), the ANC breakaway party, Congress of the People (Cope) and the Zulu-dominated Inkatha

Freedom Party (IFP). Others are the United Democratic Movement (UDM), which also broke away from the ANC and the Afrikaans-dominated Freedom Front Plus.

Graham Mackay, Executive Chairman of SABMiller said South Africa had an exciting open democracy and SABMiller was honoured to have made an input to that accomplishment.

“Political progress will remain vital to the country’s continued stability and growth but this progress requires funding and significant human resources. This is an extremely important cause and it deserves our support,” Mackay said.

SABMiller made donations of R5 million in the 1999, 2004 and 2009 general polls. But the group was quick to add that it had not made any other political donations in

South Africa “outside of the national election cycle.” This year’s higher donation value followed a number of years of double-digit inflation in South Africa, the company said.