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Johannesburg - Struggling South African state-owned firms have spent R110m on 2010 FIFA World Cup tickets, angering trade unions which have accused top executives of selfishness, the Sunday Times reported.
Zwelenzima Vavi, general secretary of powerful trade federation Cosatu, described the purchase of hospitality tickets by state enterprises - including South African Airways, power utility Eskom, oil company Petro SA, logistics group Transnet, and some municipalities and state departments - as "outrageous".
Most state enterprises rely on government bail-outs to continue their operations.
"It's the most selfish way of spending money and it is recklessness of the worst kind," Vavi told the Sunday Times.
"We are appealing to workers to act in the national interest, when their managers are acting in the most selfish way," Vavi said.
The National Union of Mineworkers (Num), representing about half of Eskom's 32 000 staff, said none of its members benefited from the hospitality tickets.
"Only the executives and their wives and their children received tickets," Num spokesperson Lesiba Seshoka told the newspaper.
Eskom was not immediately available for comment but Transnet spokesperson John Dludlu said his company, which defended the purchase of tickets in a recent presentation to the parliament, would not issue further comment.
South Africa Airways spokesperson Fani Zulu is quoted as saying that the airline had given out 1 633 tickets to raise its branding.
"SAA used the hospitality packages to enhance its brand value, especially among tour operators, to enhance sales of flight tickets during the tournament," Zulu said.
- Reuters