ANC website still down, service provider demands millions
Unwembi appears to be holding the party to ransom since ANC.org.za is still down.
ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe. Picture: Twitter/@MYANC
The ANCs website is still down amid allegations that the party owes its website service provider millions.
The provider, Unwembi Communications, has given the party two weeks to cough up R32.5 million or face legal action, according to reports.
Their lawyers are demanding the party pay and have reconfigured the ANC website to not be accessible.
The site blackout has been ongoing for the past week as Unwembi Communications continues to withhold services.
Spokesperson for the ANC Pule Mabe said the website was down because it was being revamped and that a new service provider had been appointed.
He said the ANC did not have a contract with Unwembi Communications.
An attempt to access the site leads one to a page that says “No input file specified,” which indicates that the site, although running in the background, cannot be accessed by any member of the party or public.
The most interesting fact is that details of the website, such as its domain, are not registered in the ANC’s name – meaning the party could be held to ransom by the owner of the domain, in this case Unwembi.
The party’s ANC Today site is still operational, but a link leading to the main website proves that something strange is happening in the ANC camp behind the scenes.
Unwembi Communications registered its domain in July 1997. They own the party’s .org domain and it looks as though they mean business, despite Mabe’s claim of no contract with the service provider.
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