IEC Website - New Landing Page - After Frustrated Bloggers Blog Away.
Feb7Written by:
2009/02/07 11:06 AM 
A growing number of frustrated South Africans are blogging away about the IEC's "pathetic and embarrassing" website. Despite reports from the IEC that they had upgraded its website, South Africans still complain about the website in blogging communities.
"This is without doubt the worst design I have ever seen," a blogger called David wrote on the iMod blog. "The level of design is shocking," Ruark commented. "I know of 6th-graders that do better designs," Wogan added on the same blog.
"What an embarrassment to anyone involved," Red wrote on Deem's Weblog.
"Those of us in the IT industry know that we can easily compare and beat any so-called first-world country when it comes to IT initiatives, which makes this such a slap in the face of anyone delivering high international quality work every day in our country," he blogged.
After such complaints the IEC changed their landing page. I must say it looks 100% better. But the rest of the site is still the same. Having a look at the current web developers designs and the new landing page, it would difficult to assume that they were not done by the same person or company.
The current web developers other sites speak for themselves. They are sitting in the 1990's. With bad design, bad layout, bad graphics. Links not working, navigation sucks. I am not saying that I know everything there is about web development, nor am I saying that I do not make mistakes. But to pay a company so much money to develop such rubbish, makes me want to through up.
Here are some of his sites. Deliberately no link attached.
- http://www.nwpg.gov.za/Transport/
- http://www.pdca.co.za/
- http://www.nwpg.gov.za/finance/
- http://www.southafrica2010.co.za/
Looking at these sites you judge for yourself.
As far as the cost is concerned, the IEC stated that the site did not cost 3 million. But in fact the 3 million was for the whole project. The current site was phase one. This phase was to make sure that the site worked in all major browsers. For this they forked out a grand sum of R291 000. WHAT!!!. You got to be kidding me. Some one is being ripped of, and some one is stealing in broad daylight.
This guys resume is something to behold. He should be up there with Bill Gates. Have a look here.
The rest of the world is laughing at us. How are we to host and manage the 2010 world cup when the government and other state organisations put websites such as this as their cream of the crop. What does it say for the rest of our skills. Sites like this are supposed to be an advertisement for our professionalism and skill set. Yeah Right.
Its no wonder that South Africans are getting frustrated when choices like this are made in stark contrast to the obvious excellent skills that are out there. It's no wonder that we are experiencing this "Brain Drain". Skilled professionals are leaving because they are overlooked and replaced by unskilled people such as this. Makes my blood boil.
What do you think? Check out the other websites, and let me know your thoughts.
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