Whip-round for more whips

The ANC has proposed using tax money to pay for its support staff in parliament, including its chief whip, leaked confidential documents show.

This is despite a fall in its voter support in the recent elections, which means a decline in the ANC's share of the tax money allocated to parties for parliamentary support.

Moloto Mothapo, spokesman for ANC chief whip Stone Sizani, confirmed the existence of the documents but said they were merely "drafts".

But the DA and the EFF, which would get a bigger allocation if the ANC proposals were accepted, because of their increased share of the vote, were sceptical.

DA chief whip John Steenhuisen raised objections and EFF spokesman Mbuyiseni Ndlozi said his party would deal with the proposals once they were presented.

The proposals, made by the ANC caucus's finance and administration commission, state that "adjustments in terms of funding both parliament and political parties [are] unavoidable to address the challenges facing MPs".

The proposals also state that "as the majority party, the ANC must be positioned to influence all the programmes of parliament".

The normal oversight of the Treasury would be bypassed in the allocation of funds to parliament - this would be "top slicing" - if the ANC proposals were accepted. Parliament would have almost a free hand in determining the allocations.

According to the documents, the role of the ANC chief whip includes ensuring "the business of parliament is co-ordinated and completed". They recommended that the office of the chief whip be funded separately by parliament.

Mothapo said the latest version of the proposals recommended that funding be extended to the multiparty chief whips forum.

The increased allocations would be used to provide "media services" to parliament's 52 committees.

Steenhuisen said parliamentary budgets could not be allocated without oversight by, for example, a parliamentary multiparty portfolio committee.

" The ANC must learn to live within its means, like everybody else. Its proposals must be opposed at all costs," he said.