STATE departments and entities have so far spent R60million of taxpayers money to buy World Cup tickets.

STATE departments and entities have so far spent R60million of taxpayers money to buy World Cup tickets.

This is despite a warning by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan that such expenditure was illegal.

Yesterday, a reply to a DA parliamentary question revealed that PetroSA had spent R12,5million on World Cup tickets.

"The department of energy, through PetroSA, joins a shameful list of government departments and state entities that have spent taxpayers' money on World Cup tickets - even while the majority of South Africans either cannot afford to purchase tickets, or have been unable to do so," the DA said yesterday.

So far the expenditure on World Cup tickets by state enterprises that has been revealed currently include:

l Department of Trade and Industry: R 16 738 960 on 3054 tickets;

l Department of Science and Technology: R 25200 on 10 tickets;

l The Department of Tourism: R918973 on 180 tickets;

l Department of Public Service and Administration: R65400 on 25 tickets;

l Department of Communication: R5,2million on 2786 tickets;

l Industrial Development Corporation (Department of Trade and Industry): R12million on tickets;

l Eskom (Department of Public Enterprises): R12million on tickets;

l PetroSA (Department of Energy): R12,5million on 1000 tickets;

l CEF (Department of Energy): R1,4million.

The DA says it will write to the chairperson of the select committee on finance to request that Gordhan explains to Parliament what action Treasury plans to take against those responsible for the " wasteful and self-indulgent expenditure."