Govt spent R4.6bn on food, entertainment

This is just crazy. The Beeld reported yesterday that the South African government managed to spend R4.67bn on catering, entertainment and travel allowances in 2011. I must say that must take some doing. I understand that it is a governments function to spend money but I think your average South African gets a little bit annoyed when these muppets are spending it overseas.

The Beeld reported that the figures emerged from government departments' financial results tabled in Parliament over the past few weeks.

In the financial year ending on March 31 2012, the 34 state departments incurred the following costs:

- R194m for catering

- R31.7m for entertainment

- R4.4bn for travel and accommodation expenses.

DA MP Dion George, said expenditure of this kind while the country bled economically was a disgrace, and that it was totally unacceptable tospend such a large sum of money on frivolities.

"The DA will send a formal request to the minister of finance to issue a statement in which government departments are asked to stop spending money on luxuries. Wasting money in this manner amounts to negligence, during times in which poor South Africans are struggling to put food on the table."