Limpopo officials have defended a decision to buy new furniture for Premier Cassel Mathale's office even though the province is bankrupt.

Reports claimed the luxury furniture cost in the region of R500 000.

Mathale's office said he and his staff needed furniture because new officials had been appointed and a bigger boardroom was necessary for meetings of heads of department.

But Mathale's spokesperson Tebatso Mabitsela could not confirm how much money was actually spent.

"There are new people who have been employed in the department. These people have to deal with monitoring and evaluation. Those people need to have proper office seating arrangements."