The Mangaung metro council has ordered the removal of an outdoor advert for Volksblad newspaper in the Free State, which featured a picture of a luxury house linked to premier Ace Magashule.
Beeld newspaper reported on Thursday that the advert for its sister newspaper in Bloemfontein was removed on Wednesday by Ad Outpost agency, after it received a lawyer's letter from the metro council.
The advert featured three pictures – one was an architectural sketch of what Magashule's house could look like, another of a shack, and a third of a rubbish-strewn street.
Volksblad last year reported that it understood that an official house could be built for Magashule at a cost of R15 million in Cape Town. This was denied by the premier at the time, who said he was having a house built in Bloemfontein.
The picture on the Volksblad advert featured an architect's presentation of what the house could look like.
It was accompanied by the slogan: “Ace-paleis, pondok, varkhok”, which is a word play on the Afrikaans's children's rhyme, “Huis, paleis, pondok, varhok (House, palace, shack, pigsty.)”
The advert said: “Lug jou mening as dit saak maak (State your opinion when it matters).”
Mangaung metro spokesman Qondile Khedama said the outdoor advert was removed because it was erected illegally, but Beeld said that another advert, on the other side of the same sign post, had not been removed.
Volksblad editor Ainsley Moos said it was an attempt by political leaders to silence criticism. – Sapa