Sixteen national departments spent a total of R43-million on restaurants last year, according to answers to parliamentary questions — and correctional services topped the list with a whopping R19-million.
Prison officials’ restaurant expenses doubled in 2006, from R9,8-million the previous year.
The information emerged from national departments’ responses to Democratic Alliance questions in Parliament on their spending on travel, hotel accommodation and restaurants in 2004/05 and 2005/06. Overall, spending on these three items rose 45% from 2005 to last year, to R1-billion, according to the DA’s figures.
Twenty-two of a total of 37 departments responded, of which 16 provided details of restaurant expenditure.
Other big spenders on restaurants were the treasury (R5,6-million) and water affairs and forestry (R3,9-million). Six other departments increased their spending on restaurants compared with 2005, most notably science and technology, whose spending rose from about R1-million to R1,6-million.
Sports and culture notched up the largest percentage increase, but from a low base of R5 223 in 2005 to R23 376 last year.
Requested to explain his department’s expenditure, correctional services acting spokesperson Luphumzo Kebeni asked the Mail & Guardian to send questions in writing, No answer had been received at the time of going to press.
The Rhodes University-based Public Services Accountability Monitor (PSAM) slammed the expenditure as representing ‘a continuation of the apartheid ethos of entitlement†in the public service sector.
‘If the figure for correctional services is accurate, this is cause for concern, given its track record of weak financial management,†said PSAM director Colm Allen. ‘The R19-million could have been used to provide antiretrovirals for more than 6 400 prisoners for a year.
Nhlanhla Nyide, spokesperson for the Department of Science and Technology, said the department’s R1,6 million outlay included allowances for domestic and international travel, as well as catering for workshops, conferences and seminars.
Water affairs and forestry spokesperson Thandi Mapukata says that the department’s R3,9-million spent on meals is in no way ‘unauthorised or fruitlessâ€. Increased travel to meet increasing demands and needs necessitates higher expenditure on subsistance, says Mapukata.
The department of minerals and energy, the sixth biggest spender, at R1,9-million, said the bulk of the costs related to subsistence and travel expenditure by departmental employees. The department believed these expenses were justified, as they reflected an increase in staff numbers to ensure better overall performance, said spokesperson Bontle Mafuna.
The DA does not agree. ‘With an overwhelming number of South Africans living below the poverty-line, government should be frugal,†said party spokesperson Motlatjo Thetjeng.
‘The answers provided suggest the opposite — that a number of government departments are increasing their already substantial expenditure on accommodation, food and travel.
‘Against a backdrop of exorbitant VIP protection costs and the lavish use of private chartered jets by government officials, the impression created is that the ANC government is more concerned with the comfort of its own public representatives than with the well-being of ordinary people.â€
The treasury and provincial and local government departments were also asked to explain their expenditure, but had not responded at the time of going to press.
