The cash-strapped ANC wants State funding to political parties to be substantially increased in an apparent bid to ease its financial woes and safeguard its integrity.

It also plans to lead the way in terms of disclosing private funding.

This emerged at the party's National General Council in Pretoria.

The need for extra cash is even more urgent given the fact that the party's national executive committee has to come up with a plan for its unemployed deputy president Jacob Zuma.

In an apparent reference to the various scandals involving donations to the party, delegates said: "To safeguard the integrity of the ANC and our system of multi-party democracy, there should be a significant increase in public funding for political parties in Parliament, operating at national and provincial level."

Delegates also urged the ANC to be transparent about private donations made to the movement.

This follows an internal discussion document on the organisational design of the ANC. It euphemistically refers to the ANC's financial constraints by stating that the problem of finances has become increasingly prominent in the operation of the ANC recently.

The document calls on the ANC's treasury and finance committee to devise a revenue strategy that must support the operations of the ANC.

Eleven years into power and without its cash cow Nelson Mandela raising funds for it, the party's foreign funding has all but dried up and it now has to rely on domestic funding and taxpayers' money.

Ahead of the 2004 elections, staff at the party's Luthuli House headquarters in Johannesburg failed to receive salaries for two months. Reports at the time said they were baled out by former Gauteng premier turned businessman Tokyo Sexwale, among others.

The party's salary bill is enormous given that four of its top officials work fulltime and receive salaries commensurate with their previous jobs. Head of the ANC presidency Smuts Ngonyama is a former MEC, while deputy secretary-general Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele is a former Housing Minister. Zuma's axing as deputy president and his decision to resign as an MP will add an extra burden given his penniless state.

The ANC also benefited from a controversial multi-million rand donation allegedly from taxpayers' funds channelled from State oil company PetroSA via Imvume Management.

ANC provinces have also been beset by financial woes, with the ANC Western Cape at one stage unable to pays its bills. Controversial mining magnate and ANCYL benefactor Brett Kebble apparently came to the rescue.

In terms of the Represented Political Parties Fund administered by the Independent Electoral Commission, political parties represented in Parliament and the provincial legislatures qualify for State funding in terms of a complicated formula that also take their proportional representation into account when deciding on the breakdown of funds.

In 2003, the 21 political parties received their share of a R66,6-million pie, with the ANC getting by far the largest slice given its massive majority. The kitty has not changed by much this time around.

To survive parties also rely on private funding. There is no legislation that regulates private funding or forces parties to disclose their private funders. However, a recent Cape High Court judgment did suggest Parliament adopt such a law.

This would also be in line with an AU anti-corruption protocol.

Given the number of ANC comrades in business, including its senior leaders, and the challenge of corruption in the party's ranks, delegates urged the party's national executive committee to develop protocols to regulate the conduct of ANC members in respect of their participation in business.

Delegates also agreed with a call by secretary-general Kgalema Motlanthe for a cooling-off period or restraint of trade for public representatives and officials after leaving office.

Draft regulations on the issue have already been submitted to Cabinet and are being finalised by the Department Public Service and Administration.

With acknowledgements to Angela Quintal and the Pretoria News.