Correctional Service MPs leave R31,433 booze bill unpaid during late-night KZN oversight visit
MPs on the Correctional Services portfolio committee reportedly ran up a R31 433 restaurant bill during a late-night uMhlanga visit, leaving without paying.
Image: File: Ayanda Ndamane/ Independent Newspapers
Members of Parliament serving on the Correctional Services portfolio committee are under scrutiny after allegedly leaving a R31,433 restaurant bill unpaid during a late-night dinner in uMhlanga.
The group reportedly spent the night drinking top-shelf whisky, cognac, and tequila from Friday evening into the early hours of Saturday morning, before departing without settling the account.
According to The Witness, between eight and ten committee members, including chairperson Kgomotso Ramolobeng, arrived at the restaurant at around 8pm on Friday, February 28, during an oversight visit to KwaZulu-Natal.
Some are said to have remained until just before 3am the following morning.
The bill reportedly included two bottles of Hennessy Cognac at R2,400 each, two bottles of Meerlust Rubicon wine at R1,350 each, two bottles of Johnnie Walker Black at R900 each, four shooters at R85 each, and 14 Don Julio tequilas at R90 each, in addition to other drinks and mocktails.
Despite the large alcohol order, only ten food items were listed on the bill, including three kingklips, four shisanyama platters, and a rib-eye steak.
If ten MPs were present, this would mean spending more than R3,000 per person. The waiter reportedly received R5,500 in tips, made up of a 10% service charge and an extra R3,000 gratuity.
The bill shows the committee members arrived at 8.06pm and stayed until 2.54am, when it was presented to them, but they left without paying.
Sources told The Witness the bill was later sent to the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Correctional Services after the MPs were allegedly led to believe that the regional head, Mnikelwa Nxele, would cover the costs.
''We were told to drink and eat as much as we want, as the department will be paying. We thought that maybe it was just a token of appreciation for the work which the committee had been doing in assisting the department to address some of its challenges.
“Frankly speaking, we were never told anything about a private company which you now claim settled the bill,” a committee member said.
The department did not pay the bill. On April 9, more than a week after the dinner, a private company deposited the full R31,433 into the restaurant’s account, with proof of payment seen by The Witness.
Ramolobeng said arrangements for food and accommodation during oversight visits were handled by Parliament staff.
“But my concern about this whole thing is: why now? If the oversight was in February, and this issue of the bill was a concern to some people, then why did it take so long for people to have any interest in it?” she said.
Not all 17 committee members took part in the KwaZulu-Natal visit. One member not involved described the handling of the bill as “worrying”.
''I must admit, the allegations are troubling, especially if the committee itself coordinated with a private company to settle the bill.
“It certainly should not work like that, particularly given the ugly stuff which has come out at the Madlanga Commission and the ad hoc committee,” he said.
Nxele, who has since been suspended for unrelated matters, confirmed that the bill had been sent to him.
“I forwarded it to the department’s head office in Pretoria. I don’t know what happened to the bill thereafter,” he said.
National Department of Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said the department was distancing itself from the matter.
Nxumalo said the regional head should not have spoken to the media.
He said it was unclear why the Department of Correctional Services was being treated as a party involved in this matter, or why it was being asked to respond.
“The approach of soliciting comment from a suspended official and subsequently using that commentary as a basis to compel a response from the Department is concerning,” he said.
The incident comes as the Department of Correctional Services faces pressure over overcrowded prisons, rising food costs, and ongoing budget cuts.
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