SA government's excessive indulgence - R158m per month spent on luxuries

The ANC government has spent R158-million a month, or R5.3-million per day, on travel, restaurant expenses and accommodation, the Democratic Alliance said on their website.

Last year the Democratic Alliance set out in some detail the amount of money an ANC executive was spending on luxury cars. They also detailed the huge amounts being wasted on conferences and advertising.

Across the board it appears that, wherever there is room for indulgence, it has been excessive and unnecessary, the DA said.

The DA revealed that the problem extends to the amount government is spending on travel, restaurant expenses and accommodation. The DA asked a generic question to each national department and, of the 19 departments to have responded to date, between March 2008 and September 2009, a total cost of R1.7-billion has been incurred.

The 19 departments represent roughly half of the national government. The DA estimates that the full cost, between all departments, runs in excess of R3-billion. This means that the ANC administration is spending about R158-million every month, or R5.3 million-per day, on travel, restaurant expenses and accommodation, the DA concluded.

The five departments that have been identified as the biggest food spenders were:

•International Relations: R426-million
•Justice and Constitutional Development: R292-million
•Labour: R159-million
•Public Works: R134-million
•Rural Development and Land Reform: R134-million

The DA also found that the Department of Finance was making extensive use of first class travel and could have saved a significant amount of money had it used economy class.

Good relations cost R426m

Hundreds of millions in accommodation and travelling expenses

The international relations and co-operation department has confirmed spending R426-million on travelling, accommodation and catering from March 2008 to September 2009.

The Business Day reported last Friday that national government departments ran up bills of more than R3-billion on luxury travel, restaurants and accommodation over 19 months.