The Democratic Alliance on Monday released a statement in which it revealed that a aparliamentary reply from the Department of Arts and Culture shows that since January 2006, R42-million has been spent on an assortment of parties, concerts and conferences.

"Some of these events may have some legitimate value to them; many, however, are clearly simply excuses to blow enormous sums of public funds on gala dinners, music concerts and freebies," the DA said.

The full parliamentary reply is available upon request.

The DA said the most shocking examples of expenditure include:

• R3.76-million spent on the "Launch of the Charter of Positive Values" in 2008, at which R1-million was spent on logistics and R689 000 on "catering and decorating".

  "The event is apparently one of the 'moral regeneration initiatives whose vision is to build an ethical and moral community and the mission is to promote positive values' - yet another amorphous concept clearly serving as a smokescreen for a plush gala dinner," the DA said.

• The R612 000 International Translation Day and Translation Imbizo event, at which R200 000 was spent on bags and golf shirts given out to delegates, and another R147 000 on conference packages.

• The R163 000 "Performance of Lady Salsa" in July 2009. This included nearly R20 000 of state funds spent on the bar and drinks vouchers, R25 000 spent on the venue, and R60 000 on purchasing tickets to the show for the 150 guests.

  The event was apparently to commemorate the establishment of bilateral relations between South Africa and the Republic of Cuba. Another R1.3-million was spent on the "Sistas Healing our Souls" music concert in 2007.

• The R1.1-million spent on the "Memory of the World Workshop and Closed Meeting", in which R679 000 was spent on marketing, and another R271 600 on "promotional items". This event was apparently held to "create discussions about documentary heritage".

• The R325 000 spent on delegate gifts at the World Library and Information Congress Conference in 2007.

• The enormous funds diverted to internal departmental functions - such as an "Internal 16 Days of Activism against Women and Children" event, which cost R213 000, and at which R56 000 was spent on posters, brochures and gifts.

  The DA said: "The questions need to be asked: should 16 Days functions not be directed towards the public, rather than the Department's own staff, and why is the Department giving its own staff gifts?

  "Similarly, R17 000 was spent on promotional gifts at a Arts and Culture's own internal HR Indaba. Again, why is the Department's own staff receiving promotional items?"

• The R275 000 spent on the Department's 2009 budget vote function.

  "No such function is necessary, and many departments forego them in recognition of this fact. It is particularly shocking that R170 000 was spent on marketing and PR for a function related to a budget vote - which would have only been attended by invited guests, and which is already very widely publicly advertised by virtue of being a budget vote."

• The R1-million media campaign associated with the R3.1-million Freedom Day event in 2006.

  The DA said that 21 120 VIP guests in total 'benefited' from the various events hosted by the Department. The total cost of the 33 events that the department held in this time period stands at R42-million.

  "The fact that R42-million has been spent on these sorts of events, which largely consist of gala dinners, music concerts and the handing out of complementary gifts, shows a lot about how little idea the Arts and Culture department has about priorities," the opposition party said.

  "Today the department of Arts and Culture failed to even attend its own five year strategic planning workshop, and although the Minister Xingwana is currently on an overseas trip, there was no reason given as to why the DG for the department failed to attend.

  "Yet whenever there is a party or a concert, the reply reveals that the senior departmental staff are quick to be in attendance.

  "In addition to this, the department's failure to come good on a prior commitment of R150-million in special arts and culture funding for the World Cup period, along with severe budget cuts to the National Arts Council, demonstrate that this Department, under both Lulu Xingwana and her predecessor, is completely lacking direction and leadership, and any sense of what is appropriate expenditure and what is not.

  "Minister Xingwana's recent display of shocking homophobia only demonstrates further how completely out of touch she is with her responsibilities as a minister. The wasteful spending on conferences, parties and dinners must come to an end, and the Arts and Culture department must get its priorities straight," the DA said.