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Cape Town – The department of science and technology (DST) bought 10 FIFA World Cup quarter-final tickets as an incentive for employees, despite a government ban on departments purchasing tickets for the tournament.

The tickets for the match to be played in Port Elizabeth on July 2 cost the department R25 200, Minister of Science and Technology Naledi Pandor said in reply to a Parliamentary question published on Monday.

"The tickets were allocated to employees who successfully completed the DST's accelerated leadership development programme," the minister said.

She also revealed that the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) bought 17 tickets for Wednesday's Group A match between South Africa and Uruguay, and the Chile-Spain clash in Pretoria on June 25.

The tickets cost R314 990.

Pandor said most of the tickets were allocated to members of the department of defence, the SA National Defence Force, key stakeholders in the DST, and CSIR executives and board members.

She said the CSIR's defence, peace, safety and security unit set money aside in its budget for the tickets because it regarded the tournament as "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to invite and interact" with key stakeholders in the defence field.

Departments warned

Government spokesperson Themba Maseko said last week that state departments had been warned not to splurge on World Cup tickets, after it emerged that state entities and the SABC had spent nearly R6m on securing match seats.

Maseko said an exception could be made for the departments of sport and international relations.

The National Treasury has warned that officials who signed off on World Cup ticket purchases could face charges of financial misconduct and irregular expenditure in terms of the Public Finance Management Act.

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan has reportedly asked Auditor-General Terence Nombembe to watch out for budget funds allocated to ticket buying when the audits for the 2009/10 financial year start.

The cash-strapped SABC spent R3.3m on 2 000 tickets for the world's biggest sporting event, signal regulator Sentech spent R1.7m on 96 tickets, and the SA Post office spent R800 000 on 500 tickets.

The department of public service and administration paid R65 400 for 25 tickets to World Cup matches.