The office of Paul Mashatile, the Gauteng MEC for finance, has dismissed suggestions that there is anything sinister about his R96 000 post-budget speech dinner bill.
"The expenditure was budgeted for; it is not an unusual expense. We invited 200 people but got more, including officials and staff members from three departments," said Percy Mthimkhulu, Mashatile's spokesperson.
"There was nothing sinister about the dinner."
Politicians, including the Democratic Alliance, criticised Mashatile for spending almost R100 000 on one dinner while there was a high incidence of poverty and starvation in the province.
Mashatile reportedly spent more than R250 000 on restaurant bills in the five months from February to June.
"He is not doing anything that no other official in his position is doing," Mthimkhulu said. Mashatile picked up the R96 000 bill at the posh Auberge Michel restaurant in Sandton on June 23, using his government credit card to entertain colleagues from the economics and treasury departments and Gauteng Shared Services Centre (GSSC).
"There is no specific reason why the MEC chose to host the dinner, but there would have been a number of considerations, including location, before the venue was chosen," Mthimkhulu said.
Mashatile had been questioned several times about his expenses, but he submitted a written reply only after being ordered to do so by Sophie Williams-De Bruyn, the Gauteng deputy speaker, after a request by Brian Goodall, the DA member of the legislature.
Mashatile said he spent:
- R480 at Ritrovo restaurant in Pretoria; R17 183,50 on two visits to Auberge Michel; and R1 900 at Pigalle in January;
- R2 641,45 on two visits to Auberge Michel and R12 297 at Pigalle in March;
- R2 030,95 at The Butcher and Grill in April;
- R5 409,90 on one sitting at Beverley Hills in Durban and R3 720,20 on a single visit to Auberge Michel in May; and
- R99 810,40 on two visits to Auberge Michel and R85 at Palazzo Mede in June.
The two-floor Auberge Michel, off Katherine Street near Grayston Drive, seats about 80 people.
The DA's spokesperson, James Lorimer, said spending such an exorbitant amount on a dinner bill was unacceptable. Thoraya Pandy, the spokesperson for Trevor Manuel, the finance minister, said once a year after the budget speech in Cape Town the minister hosted a dinner as a "thank you" to staff.
The high-spending Mashatile was embroiled in controversy several years ago after a report that he held share options in GSSC.
"He did not exercise those share options... he merely declared his interests and the matter is now with the integrity commission, which will be releasing a report on the findings of an investigation," Mthimkhulu said.
Regarding poor service delivery at GSSC, Mthimkhulu said that teething problems when the centre began operating in 2002 had been resolved. However, a forensic audit report conducted by the Gauteng education department into irregular appointments of contract staff at its 12 district offices accused the GSSC of making them.
Another report found that Gauteng schools, prisons, police stations and hospitals faced shortages of basic commodities such as coal, fresh vegetables and toilet paper because the GSSC was not paying its bills.
Mthimkhulu said the centre was scheduled to release its annual report shortly.
"We are confident they will have turned the corner," he said.