ActionSA requests President Cyril Ramaphosa to institute an urgent investigation into explosive allegations made by former DA Leader and “outgoing” Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, regarding Resolve Communications’ alleged privileged access to DA Ministers and senior members of the Executive.
According to Steenhuisen, Resolve Communications, chaired by former DA leader Tony Leon and led by former DA CEO Paul Boughey, repeatedly facilitated meetings between DA Ministers and the firm’s private clients on matters of public policy. He further alleges that he repeatedly raised concerns internally about the firm’s proximity to the DA leadership and the governance risks arising from those relationships.
Reeking of textbook state capture, these allegations raise serious questions about the integrity of the Executive and whether politically connected commercial interests were afforded privileged access to GNU Ministers entrusted with exercising public power solely in the national interest.
To that end, the President cannot remain silent.
When a GNU Cabinet Minister alleges that politically connected lobbyists may have enjoyed privileged access to GNU members of the Executive on behalf of paying private clients, the President has a constitutional obligation to assure South Africans that Cabinet decision-making remains free from any undue and irregular influence and undisclosed private interests.
ActionSA therefore calls on President Ramaphosa to:
- institute an independent investigation into the allegations made by Mr Steenhuisen;
- refer the matter to the Public Service Commission to determine whether standards of ethical governance and executive administration were compromised; and
- request the Public Protector to investigate whether any GNU member of the Executive may have breached the Executive Ethics Code by granting privileged access or preferential treatment to a politically connected lobbying firm acting on behalf of private clients.
If these allegations are unfounded, they should be publicly disproved. If they are true, South Africans deserve to know the full extent of Resolve Communications’ access to GNU Ministers, whose interests it represented, what meetings took place, whether those engagements were properly declared, and whether any government policy or executive decisions were affected.
Steenhuisen’s allegations also raise uncomfortable questions about his own conduct.
If he genuinely believed that politically connected lobbyists were enjoying privileged access to Cabinet Ministers, why did he remain silent while serving simultaneously as Leader of the Democratic Alliance and a GNU member of Cabinet? By his own account, these interactions occurred over an extended period and included meetings he himself attended.
The people of South Africa are entitled to ask whether this is a sudden outbreak of conscience following his removal from Cabinet, or whether serious governance concerns were tolerated until they were no longer politically convenient.
Members of the GNU Executive are constitutionally required to exercise their powers in good faith, in the public interest, and in a manner that inspires public confidence. Any perception that politically connected lobbying firms enjoy privileged access unavailable to ordinary South Africans undermines these constitutional principles and weakens trust in democratic governance.
ActionSA will therefore submit written parliamentary questions, at the first available opportunity, to every DA Minister and Deputy Minister serving in the Government of National Unity.
These questions will seek to establish:
- whether DA Ministers or Deputy Ministers serving in the GNU cabinet met with Resolve Communications or its representatives while in office;
- whether those meetings were arranged on behalf of private clients;
- the identities of those clients;
- whether policy proposals, legislative amendments or executive decisions were discussed;
- whether those engagements were formally declared and recorded; and
- what safeguards exist to prevent politically connected lobbying firms from enjoying privileged access unavailable to ordinary South Africans.
Lobbying is not inherently improper. Businesses, civil society organisations and industry bodies engage and lobby government every day.
However, where lobbying is undertaken by firms led by former senior political office-bearers with close personal and political relationships to serving Ministers, transparency is not optional, it is indispensable to preserving public confidence in the integrity of government.
The Constitution demands openness, accountability and integrity from those entrusted with public office.
ActionSA Requests Investigation into State Capture-Style Privileged Access Granted to Tony Leon’s Resolve Communications
ActionSA requests President Cyril Ramaphosa to institute an urgent investigation into explosive allegations made by former DA Leader and “outgoing” Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, regarding Resolve Communications’ alleged privileged access to DA Ministers and senior members of the Executive.
According to Steenhuisen, Resolve Communications, chaired by former DA leader Tony Leon and led by former DA CEO Paul Boughey, repeatedly facilitated meetings between DA Ministers and the firm’s private clients on matters of public policy. He further alleges that he repeatedly raised concerns internally about the firm’s proximity to the DA leadership and the governance risks arising from those relationships.
Reeking of textbook state capture, these allegations raise serious questions about the integrity of the Executive and whether politically connected commercial interests were afforded privileged access to GNU Ministers entrusted with exercising public power solely in the national interest.
To that end, the President cannot remain silent.
When a GNU Cabinet Minister alleges that politically connected lobbyists may have enjoyed privileged access to GNU members of the Executive on behalf of paying private clients, the President has a constitutional obligation to assure South Africans that Cabinet decision-making remains free from any undue and irregular influence and undisclosed private interests.
ActionSA therefore calls on President Ramaphosa to:
If these allegations are unfounded, they should be publicly disproved. If they are true, South Africans deserve to know the full extent of Resolve Communications’ access to GNU Ministers, whose interests it represented, what meetings took place, whether those engagements were properly declared, and whether any government policy or executive decisions were affected.
Steenhuisen’s allegations also raise uncomfortable questions about his own conduct.
If he genuinely believed that politically connected lobbyists were enjoying privileged access to Cabinet Ministers, why did he remain silent while serving simultaneously as Leader of the Democratic Alliance and a GNU member of Cabinet? By his own account, these interactions occurred over an extended period and included meetings he himself attended.
The people of South Africa are entitled to ask whether this is a sudden outbreak of conscience following his removal from Cabinet, or whether serious governance concerns were tolerated until they were no longer politically convenient.
Members of the GNU Executive are constitutionally required to exercise their powers in good faith, in the public interest, and in a manner that inspires public confidence. Any perception that politically connected lobbying firms enjoy privileged access unavailable to ordinary South Africans undermines these constitutional principles and weakens trust in democratic governance.
ActionSA will therefore submit written parliamentary questions, at the first available opportunity, to every DA Minister and Deputy Minister serving in the Government of National Unity.
These questions will seek to establish:
Lobbying is not inherently improper. Businesses, civil society organisations and industry bodies engage and lobby government every day.
However, where lobbying is undertaken by firms led by former senior political office-bearers with close personal and political relationships to serving Ministers, transparency is not optional, it is indispensable to preserving public confidence in the integrity of government.
The Constitution demands openness, accountability and integrity from those entrusted with public office.