Cape Town – Parliament spent about R16m on food and beverages last year, according to a report.

Parliament’s annual budget for refreshments stands at R18m. This includes tea, coffee, cool drinks and platters of finger food available at committee briefings, Eyewitness News reported.

Parliamentary spokesperson Luzuko Jacobs told EWN that Parliament does not only cater for numerous briefings, but also for major external events such as the Take Parliament to the People programme, which involves catering for over 30 000 people.

However, opposition parties have criticised the amount spent on catering at Parliament as excessive.

“I think it’s money wasted. If they want a cool drink, they must buy it themselves,” the DA’s Watty Watson said, adding that he believes most of the food ends up being wasted.

He said R16m could feed eight million children twice a day for a full year.

The DA will ask for a full breakdown of Parliament’s catering expenses.
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