TONY LEON’S PR FIRM THREATENS LEGAL ACTION AFTER “STATE CAPTURE” ACCUSATIONS
A PR firm founded by former DA leader Tony Leon is threatening legal action after being accused of improperly lobbying Democratic Alliance ministers.
Resolve Communications was drawn into controversy after former DA leader John Steenhuisen said in a weekend interview that he had been actively lobbied by private industry players whom the firm represents.
On Monday, both the ANC and ActionSA accused the DA of double standards over the matter. ActionSA went further, calling on the president to launch an independent investigation into Steenhuisen’s claims. The party also said it would submit written parliamentary questions to DA ministers to establish the extent of their dealings with Resolve Communications, which is led by former DA CEO Paul Boughey.
The ANC alleged the firm had attempted to “capture” DA ministers — a claim Resolve flatly rejected.
In a statement, the firm said it was being wrongly treated as a political actor and that there was no evidence it had behaved inappropriately.
“What has been offered are political statements, not facts; accusations, not proof; and politically opportunistic noise, not substance,” the firm said.
Resolve insisted that facilitating meetings between clients and government is a legitimate and lawful profession. It called the state capture comparison “reckless” and said equating its work to the real state capture era was either ignorance or a deliberate attempt to mislead the public.
The firm said it is comfortable with scrutiny but will not be used as a tool in a political point-scoring battle.
💬 Do you think private PR firms lobbying government ministers is a legitimate part of democracy — or does it open the door to corruption?
