1. Twitter has existed since 2006, I'm sure they are very well aware of governments utilizing their platform since then.
2. How do you expect governments to provide information? Should they:
a. Distribute information via the most widely consumed forms of media
b. Create individual platforms so that people have to check a unique website to stay upddated on each government ministry
3. Twitter may be a "novelty microblog website" in a global sense, but in North America calling it that is absurd.