Social Development Minister Susan Shabangu‚ whose portfolio represents the administration of grants to South Africa’s poor‚ is serving up comestibles with crockery and cutlery she bought for her office at a cost equal to a retail worker’s salary for a year.

This is according to Inkatha Freedom Party MP Liezl van der Merwe‚ who asked the social development minister how much she had spent on cutlery since she took up the position in February.

Minister Shabangu responded: “Crockery and cutlery amount was procured for R116 528‚56.”

The minister’s written reply to the parliamentary question stated that the purchases were to allow her to host meetings‚ and for her VIP guests. This complied with Treasury regulations‚ she added.

Shabangu did not answer Van der Merwe’s question about what was wrong with the cutlery already in the office.

The IFP responded to the minister’s reply with a hashtag on Twitter: #StopEatingOurMoney.

The pricey purchase was also flagged by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse.