Former DA leader Tony Leon.
Image: Sibusiso Ndlovu/African news agency (ANA) Archives
The Democratic Alliance's internal war has escalated dramatically, with former party leader John Steenhuisen's explosive allegations triggering a fierce public rebuttal from one of the party's most influential former figures and drawing accusations of possible "state capture" from the ANC.
Resolve Communications Executive Chairman Tony Leon has dismissed claims that his public affairs firm wielded improper political influence inside the Government of National Unity (GNU), describing the allegations as politically motivated and unsupported by evidence.
Leon, the former Leader of the Opposition and South Africa's former ambassador to Argentina, said Resolve Communications had become "a convenient external explanation for difficulties that are, in truth, internal and political" following a wave of allegations linking the firm to privileged access within government.
The extraordinary public clash comes days after Steenhuisen made a series of allegations in an interview with News24 over the weekend, further exposing deep divisions within the DA following his removal as party leader.
Steenhuisen claimed Resolve Communications, chaired by Leon and managed by former DA chief executive Paul Boughey, had used its proximity to senior DA leaders to facilitate meetings between DA ministers serving in the GNU and the firm's private sector clients, including Elon Musk's Starlink.
He further alleged that Resolve played a central role in shaping public narratives around government's handling of the country's foot and mouth disease outbreak through FMD Response SA, a lobby group reportedly established by the firm.
Steenhuisen suggested these developments ultimately contributed to his removal as agriculture minister after DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis asked President Cyril Ramaphosa to replace him with Willie Aucamp.
The ANC, through acting spokesperson Nonceba Mhlauli, described the claims as indicative of possible "state capture" and called for an independent investigation.
The Democratic Alliance's internal divisions have intensified after former leader John Steenhuisen alleged that Resolve Communications used its proximity to DA ministers in the Government of National Unity to benefit private clients. Resolve Executive Chairman Tony Leon has strongly denied the claims, calling them politically motivated and without evidence, while the ANC has called for an independent investigation into what it describes as possible "state capture" within the GNU.
Image: IOL Graphics
ActionSA also urged Ramaphosa to institute an urgent investigation. MP Lerato Ngobeni said ActionSA would submit parliamentary questions to every DA minister and deputy minister serving in the GNU regarding their interactions with Resolve Communications. Communications Minister Solly Malatsi was among those named as having allegedly been encouraged to meet with the firm’s clients.
The controversy widened further after Environment Minister Dion George told the Sunday Times that Resolve had approached him on behalf of waste management company Redisa while the company was involved in active litigation against his department.
George said he had repeatedly declined requests to meet. Although he acknowledged he had no direct evidence that Resolve was responsible for subsequent negative media coverage targeting him, he said he had “put two and two together”, a remark Leon later cited as an example of allegations being made without proof.
Leon dismissed the accusations as speculative and lacking any factual foundation.
“What they have conspicuously lacked is the one thing that ought to accompany an accusation of wrongdoing: evidence,” he said, referring specifically to George’s admission that he had no proof.
“That is not a basis for a public accusation. It is the absence of one.”
Leon reserved his strongest criticism for comparisons between Resolve’s activities and state capture, calling the analogy both false and offensive.
“State capture was the criminal subversion of public institutions for private enrichment, conducted in secret and in defiance of the law,” he said.
“The work of helping a lawful business make its case to government, in the open and on the record, is its precise opposite.”
He added that equating the firm’s lobbying activities with state capture was “an insult to the South Africans who suffered under the real thing, and who fought to bring it to light.”
Addressing Resolve’s business practices, Leon maintained that the firm neither possessed nor sought the power to influence government decisions.
“We do not, and we cannot, direct the decisions of ministers or officials,” he said.
“Where we have requested a meeting on a client’s behalf and that request has been declined, we have respected the decision without complaint. A request, made and freely refused, is not corruption.”
Leon also noted that similar allegations had surfaced before.
He referred to claims made during internal DA disputes in 2019 that he had sought a meeting with then Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba over a purported R300 million proposal.
According to Leon, no charges were ever lodged, adding that the allegation “is no truer for being revived now.”
He confirmed that Resolve Communications was considering legal action against those responsible for what he described as false and damaging claims.
Cape Times