Free State finance MEC mum on webgate

Free State Finance MEC Seiso Mohai was silent on the controversial R140 million provincial government website in his budget speech today.

Mohai, who announced that the lion’s share of the provincial budget would go to education (nearly R10.5 billion), also did not tackle the issue of overexpenditure in the health department, to the tune of R300 million.

In a press conference after the budget speech he did however deny that there was a crisis in the department, saying it faced “challenges”.

The health department received the second biggest chunk of the budget, just short of R7.9 billion.

A commitment to clean governance was key to dealing with the Free State’s challenges, Mohai said. “We are the first to admit that things are not panning out as planned.”

Earlier today, Free State Premier Ace Magashule said he would investigate the contract for the Free State government website.