Cape Town — The Department of Human Settlements has admitted to spending R22,6m last year on what Democratic Alliance spokesman Butch Steyn describes as a "scandalous Sarafina-style" theatre production.

Disclosure of the apparently wasteful expenditure follows revelations in recent months of big spending by ministers on cars, hotel accommodation and in some cases extravagant functions.

Steyn has called for a special investigation by auditor-general Terence Nombembe into the expenditure, which he noted dwarfed the R14m spent in 1996 by then health minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on the AIDS play Sarafina II. Nombembe should also probe the awarding of the tender, said Steyn, who planned to notify Public Protector Thulisile Madonsela.

Details of the expenditure undertaken while Lindiwe Sisulu was housing minister emerged from a written reply to a parliamentary question by her successor, Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale. The Mzansi campaign was run by the department's public information and marketing directorate to spread awareness of housing issues.

Sexwale's reply indicated there were 58 performances of the play with funds also being spent on the scripting, production, logistical, translation, radio broadcast and DVD recording costs as well as "public mobilisation".

"It is inconceivable that any government department would see fit to spend such a huge amount of money on a theatre production. The R22m is enough to have built RDP houses for another 420 families on waiting lists. Raising awareness about housing is one thing, but doing it on such a scale that it hampers the delivery of houses is another," Steyn said.

" We need to identify who was responsible for sanctioning it. The former minister must have known about this expenditure," which, like Sarafina II, made no contribution to delivery.

"The department faces an enormous backlog, including the more than R1bn needed to fix poorly built RDP houses.

"How could the African National Congress government possibly have seen this as appropriate expenditure?"

Steyn said the R22m contributed to the "enormous" 195% overexpenditure (R60m in total) of the department's R20,3m advertising budget in 2008-09, which itself was lower than the amount spent on the play.