Former party leader Tony Leon stated he was being used as a scapegoat in a DA power struggle
Executive Director of Resolve Communications Tony Leon. Picture: Gallo Images
The public friction between former DA leaders Tony Leon and John Steenhuisen has entered another phase.
Leon on Tuesday released a statement which responded to the claims made by Steenhuisen in a media interview released over the weekend.
In the interview, Steenhuisen accused Leon of “pulling strings”, while claiming his DA successor Geordin Hill-Lewis had handed his “head to a baying mob of hyenas”.
Steenhuisen positioned Leon as an alleged lobbyist for private interests via his company Resolve Communications. He also accused Leon of using his proximity to DA leadership to conspire with new DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis to have him removed as agriculture minister.
Former DA members-turned political rivals, Michael Beaumont (ActionSA) and Brett Heron (GOOD party), both took to social media in the aftermath to support Steenhuisen’s claims that Leon exercised a disproportionate level of influence.
‘Insinuations’
In Leon’s response, he praised his own political service to the country before stating that no evidence of wrongdoing had been brought against him, Resolve Communications or CEO Paul Boughey, who is also a former senior DA member.
Leon stressed that the work of his company was for the betterment of the country as whole as it facilitated growth and open engagement.
The former South African ambassador to Argentina denied that his firm exerted influence over ministers and stressed that it did not interfere in government matters.
“I want to be especially clear on one point, because it goes to the heart of these insinuations. We do not, and we cannot, direct the decisions of ministers or officials. We have never sought to.
“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. To suggest otherwise is to misunderstand – or deliberately to misrepresent – how an open society works,” Leon stated.
ANC cries hypocrisy
The ANC on Monday stated that Leon’s alleged conduct amounted to “attempts to capture the state” and accused the DA of having double standards.
“For too long, the DA has sought to frame corruption as a phenomenon primarily associated with black-led governments and institutions, while projecting administrations under its control as inherently more ethical and accountable.
“This selective political narrative has contributed to the harmful perception that corruption is linked to race rather than to individual criminal conduct and systemic governance failures,” the ANC stated.
The party called for an independent investigation into Steenhuisen’s claims in the interest of maintaining public trust.
“All relevant institutions must be allowed to perform their constitutional responsibilities without interference or political favour.
“There cannot be one standard of accountability for black-led organisations and another for the DA,” the ANC concluded.
‘Considering out legal remedies’
Leon took particular exception to mentions of state capture, adding that the comparison was an “insult” to those negatively affected by the hollowing out of state institutions.
“State capture was the criminal subversion of public institutions for private enrichment, conducted in secret and in defiance of the law.
“The work of helping a lawful business make its case to government, in the open and on the record, is its precise opposite,” Leon argued.
The former party leader stated that he and his company had become a “convenient external explanation” for divisions within the DA.
Leon was wholehearted in his backing of Resolve Communications and welcomed “fact-based scrutiny”, warning of consequences if allegations went unproven.
“What we will not accept, in silence, is the weaponisation of the language of corruption or wrongdoing to settle political scores at the expense of a legitimate business and the people who work in it.
“Where these falsehoods cross into defamation, we are considering our legal remedies,” Leon said.
