The Free State government has defended itself over claims it spent ZAR140 million (US$15.4 million) on the redesign of its website, saying the figure was considerably lower than this and in fact included work on 38 different sites.
Spokesman Mondli Mvambi said the work was part of the Free State’s multi-year integrated website project.
“In total, 38 re-engineered websites form part of this project, including the provincial government’s utilisation of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter,” Mvambi said, as quoted by TimesLIVE.
Mvambi said the project included 11 provincial department websites, three provincial public entities and 24 municipalities, with the total cost in the 2011/12 financial year reaching ZAR24 million (US$2.6 million). The cost for 2012/13, he said, would be similar.
Claims the Free State spent ZAR140 million (US$15.4 million) on the website redesign were swiftly followed by allegations from the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party that premier Ace Magashule spent ZAR12 million (US$1.3 million) on his own television channel – Hlasela TV – as a “propaganda project”.
