A service provider claims the ANC owes it R32.5m for developing and hosting the party’s website and must cough up within the next two weeks or face possible legal action.

The ANC website has been down over the past week, with attorneys for Unwembi Communications saying they had instructed the service provider to withhold services until the monies had been paid.

ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe, however, said that the website was down because it was being revamped and that a new service provider had been appointed.

"I don’t know what hogwash that is, we don’t owe anyone R32m," he said.

"The only reason why our website is down is because we are revamping it … It has nothing to do with us not paying people."

Mabe said the ANC did not have a contract with Unwembi.

In a lawyer’s letter sent last week to party CFO Bongani Mahlalela, attorney Gert van der Merwe, under instruction from Unwembi, said it concluded several agreements with the ANC but that the umbrella project organisation agreement, the ANC membership system agreement and the development, hosting and support of the party’s websites were relevant in this matter.

The letter stated that the ANC owed Unwembi R26.5m for the membership system agreement.

It further detailed how the party owed R6m for the agreement on their websites, while it also asked for R467,412 in damages following the alleged breach of the agreements. (BusinessDay SA)