R140 mil website company on the Premier's payroll for years
The DA can today reveal how Premier Ace Magashule is using government marketing contracts to channel millions of public funds to the same company who built the R140 million Free State website.
In exchange for this enrichment, the Letlaka Group, headed by businessman Tumi Ntsele, is selling the Premier's image to the public during a time of service delivery collapse in the Free State.
Over the past 3 years, Premier Magashule and his Director General, Me Elzabe Rockman, have awarded several lucrative government advertising contracts to Mr Ntsele under irregular circumstances.
Mr Ntsele's wealth has been created overnight in the process, transforming his company from a small start-up to a group with several communications arms:
- R2.6 mil was paid to Letlaka for event management of the Premier's 2009 State of the Province address.
- A R4.175 mil advertising contract was awarded to Letlaka-run The Weekly newspaper without going to tender. The DG, Me Elzabe Rockman signed the deal in June 2010 while she was still the Secretary of the Legislature.
- All government advertising was centralized to the Premier's Office in November 2010, with Letlaka Communications being awarded a R300k per month contract for printing and distribution of government marketing material.
- In the past 3 months, the Free State government spent an estimated R1.6 mil on adverts in Letlaka-owned The Weekly. Standard rates were used for this estimate. During the period 30 November 2012 to 8 March 2013, the Free State government placed 88 adverts in just 10 editions of The Weekly.
- R12 million a year is spent on Letlaka-managed Hlasela TV, which is broadcast to 100 public buildings in the province.
- The massively inflated R140mil website tender was awarded to Letlaka as part of a consortium even though there were cheaper bidders .
Besides this enrichment of Letlaka, the Premier's Office is looking to build an expensive propaganda media network in the Free State including:
- A R12 million annual spend on Hlasela TV, the Premier's propaganda channel.
- 3 new propaganda newspapers to be launched by the Premier's Office.
- Community radio stations that are due to be launched soon.
- 6 existing community stations that benefited from the R140 mil website tender, suggesting their independence could be compromised.
- Massive amounts of government advertising spend is being used to prop up Letlaka-run The Weekly, a propaganda newspaper supportive of the Premier.
The DA has today asked Public Protector Thuli Madonsela to investigate ethics violations committed by Premier Magashule in his enrichment of Tumi Ntsele and the Letlaka Group.
We trust that the Public Protector will see justice done on this matter within the 30 day time period specified for ethics investigations.
Statement issued by Patricia Kopane, DA Leader in the Free State, March 11 2013
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