SA communist Party general secretary Blade Nzimande wants trade union federation Cosatu to come up with a way of regulating the payment of members of the party for being on the board of a sector education and training authority (Seta).

He made reference to federation members on Seta boards, and said Cosatu should come up with clear guidelines on how payments should be made.

"There was a Seta member who received R18 000 a year for serving on the board. Where does the money go?

"If we do not watch that, we might end up with a problem," said Nzimande.

His concern is that paying board members prevents them from being critical of the running of companies or state entities, and opens the door to corruption.

He said he hoped that Cosatu's proposed corruption-watch unit would investigate "this problematic area".

"Frankly, I did not realise the extent of the problem on this front until I went to the government," Nzimande said.

He is also the minister of higher education.

Last month, Nzimande, in his capacity as a minister, criticised the way in which Setas were run.

"For the past seven years, we have allowed them to do what they like and that will have to change," he said at a media briefing in parliament.

He said a team would "look into" Setas, which he described as a "haven" for corruption.

"We want to know: Where do they spend their money? Who are the private providers and how much are they using the public system?"

He said the government had developed the "highly parasitic framework" [of Setas] and was now reconfiguring it.

There are 21 Setas, funded by 1% of the payrolls of companies with profits of more than R500 000. Setas give post-school skills training.