THE South African taxpayer will pay less than half the multi-million rand cost of next year’s Johannesburg Earth summit, Environment Minister Valli Moosa said on Tuesday. He told journalists at a briefing in Cape Town that the United Nations (UN) conference, properly known as the World Summit on Sustainable Development, would probably cost from R500 to R550-million. ”You want South Africans to have a warm feeling towards the summit and (to believe) this isn’t money taken away from primary education,” he said. Moosa said other funding was being sourced from governments around the world, who had already pledged R70-million and were expected to come up with at least R100-million.The private sector had also been approached for sponsorship. – Sapa