http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2002391624,00.html
Lobsters, caviar and brandy for
MPs at summit on starvation
By NEIL SYSON
THE sickening champagne and caviar
lifestyle being enjoyed by Earth
Summit delegates was exposed
yesterday.
They are gorging on mountains of lobster,
oysters and fillet steak at
the Johannesburg conference — aimed at ending
FAMINE.
As the summit began yesterday, desperate kids in
nearby shanty
towns queued for water at standpipes.
Bigwig politicians among the 60,000 delegates,
including Deputy PM
John Prescott, also get vintage bubbly and
brandy.
Taxpayers are footing the £500,000 bill for the
70-strong British party.
Friends of the Earth called the extravagance
“deplorable”.
The head chef of the swanky hotel hosting Earth
Summit bigwigs
described the mountains of posh food he is
laying on for their
pleasure.
And Desmond Morgan declared: “Money is no
object.”
The chef is in charge of meals at Johannesburg’s
five-star Michelangelo
Hotel, where world leaders and other VIP
delegates are staying during
the “save the planet” conference, which opened
yesterday.
While people are going hungry at shanty towns
just a couple of miles
away, Mr Morgan told how he had stocked up with
an extraordinary
array of delicacies and fine wines.
It includes 5,000 oysters, more than 1,000lbs of
lobster and other
shellfish, buckets of caviar and piles of pâté
de foie gras.
He has also got in more than 4,400lbs of fillet
steak and chicken breasts,
450lbs of salmon, 220lbs of a tasty South
African fish called kingclip —
and more than 1,000lbs of bacon and sausages.
The huge bill is paid for by taxpayers of
participating nations including
Britain.
Mr Morgan said: “Whether they want Beluga
caviar, foie gras or bacon
sandwiches — we have it all.
“In my experience, heads of state don’t decide
what they want to eat or
drink until the last minute.
“So I have to make sure I have everything they
can possibly want.”
Vintage champagne, fine wines, spirits and
liqueurs have been flown in
from around the globe so the VIPs can wash down
their meals in style.
A new kitchen has been especially created for
world leaders, including the
Sultan of Brunei, who have their own cooks and
tasters.
The £35million summit — aimed at combating
hunger, poverty and
pollution — is centred around Sandton, the most
exclusive suburb in
Africa.
Its streets are lined with expensive
restaurants, gated villas and gleaming
shopping malls.
Yet close by, families scratch a desperate
existence in the sprawling
shanty town of Alexandra.
They live in corrugated shacks. Hungry children
play among piles of
rubbish and queue for water at standpipes.
The average weekly wage for the few who work in
the township is less
than the cost of a vintage brandy at the
Michelangelo.
Aid agencies say southern Africa is facing its
worst food crisis for more
than a decade.
More than 14million people — most of them
children — are threatened
with starvation.
The 60,000 summit delegates from 182 countries
are expected to drink
80,000 bottles of mineral water during the
conference.
Yet each day 6,000 African children die from
diseases caused by
contaminated water.
Since the last Earth Summit in Brazil in 1992,
the number of Africans
living in poverty has soared from 220million to
300million.
Several other environmental issues will be
discussed at the ten-day
summit, organised by the United
Nations.
But in another ironic twist, hundreds of trees
have been felled around the
conference centre so fleets of limousines will
have unhindered access.
The 70-strong British delegation, led by
Environment Secretary Margaret
Beckett, is costing taxpayers £500,000.
Most other countries fund their delegations too
— but the poorest nations
get financial help from the richest countries.
Tony Blair is scheduled to address the summit
for half an hour. He will
spend less than 12 hours in his £550-a-night
suite, complete with butler
service, at the Michelangelo.
Globe-trotting Deputy PM John Prescott arrives
at the hotel, which
boasts an “executive lifestyle” fitness centre,
tomorrow.
He and the British team, which also includes
Environment Minister
Michael Meacher, have five Mercedes cars at
their disposal, plus two
people carriers for aides.
Tories have branded Mr Prescott’s trip to South
Africa — the 16th
country he has visited since April last year — a
waste of money. He has
no official speaking role at the summit.
The conference’s lavish nature was blasted by
environmental campaigners
Friends of the Earth last night. Spokesman Mike
Childs said:
"It is to be deplored, especially as politicians
are scrabbling to do nothing
about the problems of environment degradation
and poverty.
"They are living it up while not taking action
for the millions around the
world who will die because of inaction.
"The people of Alexandra would be gobsmacked if
they could see how
people live in such opulence on their doorstep.
"How can delegates sleep soundly in their beds
knowing such suffering is
just down the road?"
He added: “We have been working closely with
communities in places
like Alexandra to help them get a voice.
“But delegates from rich countries just don’t
want to listen to the poor in
society.”
Friends of the Earth have sent a ten-strong
delegation to Johannesburg to
have their say. They flew out economy class and
are sleeping on the floor
of a school.
Tory MP Sir Teddy Taylor dismissed the summit as
“absurd”.
He said: “The whole thing makes me feel sick.
When you think about the
starving people in the world and then see this
sort of lavish display it just
isn’t right.
“I’m sure nothing will be achieved at the
meeting except for photo
opportunities allowing politicians to say how
great they are.”
The criticism was brushed off by Downing Street
last night.
A spokesman said: “I don’t think we will be
going into these aspects of
the summit.”
A spokesman for the Department of Environment
said: "This is not a jolly,
it is a very serious conference.
“Delegates will not be living it up. And it is
their duty to be conscious of
costs.”
US President George Bush is NOT attending
Johannesburg, even though
he is the leader of the world’s biggest
polluter.
The American delegation is being headed instead
by Secretary of State
Colin Powell.
The summit will discuss how an increasing
population can boost and
spread wealth without destroying the
environment.
But climate change is not directly on the
agenda. Former top UN climate
scientist Robert Watson yesterday claimed it was
left off because of
pressure from the US.
