ANC MP and chairman of the ethics committee in Parliament Amos Masondo has been challenged by civil society to disclose the ANC's funders after he questioned the Southern Africa Litigation Centre on theirs.
The My Vote Counts campaign, which is taking the state to court to force political parties to disclose their funders in Parliament, called on Masondo to come clean on the ANC's financial backers.
Masondo could not be reached for comment yesterday, but while interviewing candidates to succeed Thuli Madonsela as public protector he asked executive director of the Southern Africa Litigation Centre Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh about its backers.
The centre has taken the government to court for refusing to arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir last year.
The matter has been appealed by the state.
Masondo also demanded to know how much the centre had spent on the Bashir case and if it was controlled by foreign governments.
Co-ordinator for My Vote Counts Janine Ogle said Masondo was using double standards and should not have asked Ramjathan-Keogh the question as parties have been refusing to disclose their funders for years.
Ogle said her organisation had taken the state to court to disclose the sources of funding for parties in the national legislature.
When questioned by Masondo, Ramjathan-Keogh told the panel of MPs her organisation was funded by the Rand Foundation and the Open Society Foundation.
There were other funders, who had helped the organisation since it was formed in 2005 to fight public interest issues.
Ramjathan-Keogh said they did not only focus on international criminal matters like the Bashir case but also on other issues affecting the southern African region.
She said they had recently won a case in Namibia on forced sterilisation of women.
They were also involved in several matters in the region, including HIV/Aids, TB, reproductive health rights and other health issues.
The organisation was involved in fighting for media freedom in the region.
Ogle said parties had used the issue of their funders to discredit them in their struggle for social justice.
She challenged Masondo to come clean on those who funded the ANC.
The party was one of those which had consistently refused to disclose its funders.
It had been a pattern for years that each time parties were questioned about funding, they raised the issue of funding for the NGO sector, said Ogle.
She said the ANC must stop applying double standards on the matter.
The case between the state and the My Vote Counts on disclosing funders for parties is due to be heard in the coming months.
Parties have cried foul over disclosure, saying it would compromise their funders.
The issue of party funding has been a bone of contention between civil society and Parliament for 22 years. It has been fought on several fronts, with parties steadfastly refusing to say who funded them.