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ActionSA files complaint with Public Protector against Tony Leon's PR firm

ActionSA has escalated its fight against alleged political cronyism by lodging a formal complaint with the Public Protector's Office, demanding an official investigation into Resolve Communications, a public relations firm owned by former DA leader Tony Leon and its alleged dealings with Government of National Unity ministers.

The move follows explosive allegations that the firm used its political proximity to backchannel access for corporate clients, sparking fierce debate over where legitimate lobbying ends and State capture begins.

Former DA leader John Steenhuisen recently claimed that Resolve Communications tried to broker meetings between its private clients and several newly appointed GNU ministers.

ActionSA National Chairperson Michael Beaumont noted that the most prominent claim involves Elon Musk's satellite internet service, Starlink, in which Resolve Communications is alleged to have facilitated a meeting between Starlink representatives and Communications Minister Solly Malatsi.

The allegations claim that Leon pressured the Minister regarding the slow pace of the government's regulatory response to the tech giant.

In response to the growing friction, Leon and current DA leadership figures, including Geordin Hill-Lewis, have dismissed the allegations. They have defended the interactions as standard industry "lobbying." ActionSA strongly rejects this defence.

Beaumont argued that the alignment in their responses stems from Leon's "enduring political influence" within the DA, which he claims is now being leveraged against DA representatives serving in the national government.

"What they claim to be lobbying appears to be something far more sinister," Beaumont warned, drawing a direct parallel to South Africa's recent history of State capture.

The party highlighted a previous incident where Leon allegedly attempted to facilitate a R300-million contract for a Resolve Communications client during a private meeting with Herman Mashaba, who was the Mayor of Johannesburg at the time.

Mashaba reportedly rejected the deal and lodged an internal complaint with the DA.

In a controversial turn of events, Leon was later appointed to chair the review panel into Mashaba's city government, a process that ultimately paved the way for Mashaba's exit from the mayoral office and the party.

ActionSA has made it clear that the Public Protector complaint is only the first step in a broader campaign to uncover the truth. The party said it will lodge formal parliamentary questions to all DA ministers and deputy ministers regarding their official and unofficial engagements with Resolve Communications.

ActionSA will request that the Minister of Communications and representatives from Resolve Communications be hauled before the relevant parliamentary portfolio committee to account for their conduct under oath.

The friction highlights the shifting dynamics of accountability in South Africa's multi-party governance era.

ActionSA noted that while corruption allegations historically targeted one dominant party during the first 32 years of democracy, the expansion of the GNU means oversight must expand too.

The party maintains that if the investigation uncovers wrongdoing, strict legal and political consequences must follow.

Hill-Lewis hails 'DA difference' as new GNU executive sworn in, condemns Pule's appointment

DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis has congratulated his party's new representatives in the National Executive, who are being sworn in on Wednesday to serve in the Government of National Unity (GNU).

The appointments follow "structural adjustments" requested by Hill-Lewis last month, aimed at demonstrating the "DA difference".

President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the executive changes on Tuesday night.

The adjustments see Willem Aucamp appointed as Agriculture Minister and David Maynier appointed as Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Minister.

John Steenhuisen is now Trade, Industry and Competition Deputy Minister; Alexandra Abrahams is Electricity and Energy Deputy Minister; Jack Bloom is Water and Sanitation Deputy Minister; and Yusuf Cassim is now Higher Education Deputy Minister.

Hill-Lewis emphasised that these deployments followed a "strict assessment" of the party's executive performance.

While celebrating its new executive deployments, the DA fiercely condemned Ramaphosa's concurrent decision to appoint Dina Pule as the new Social Development Minister.

DA spokesperson on Social Development Nazley Sharif slammed the appointment, highlighting Pule's controversial political history.

Pule was previously removed from Cabinet following findings by the Public Protector, which included maladministration and improper conduct. She was also formally reprimanded by Parliament for betraying her oath of office, with her conduct later referred for criminal investigation.

Sharif accused Ramaphosa of prioritising internal ANC Women's League interests over the well-being of millions of vulnerable South Africans who rely heavily on social grants.

Despite the friction over Pule's appointment, Hill-Lewis maintained that the DA's incoming team remains "firmly focused" on raising standards and holding public officials accountable to South Africans.

Kganyago signals South Africa could hike rates again this month

South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said inflation expectations have risen above the central bank's 3% target, justifying the May interest-rate increase and signalling further tightening may be needed when policymakers meet later this month.

The central bank raised rates in May for the first time in three years, lifting them by 25 basis points to 7% to prevent an oil shock caused by the Iran war from spilling into lasting inflation.

"The inflation expectations have risen, they are above our target and that is the concern, and that is what we should actually be responding to," Kganyago said in an interview with Francine Lacqua on Bloomberg Television on Wednesday.

He emphasised that bringing expectations back to target was the priority, after a recent reading of more than 4%, which showed the central bank's decision to raise rates in May "was a correct one." He declined to comment on what policymakers might decide at their next meeting.

"What the call will be in July we will see when we get there," he said. The monetary policy committee will announce its next rate decision on July 23. Bets in interest-rate futures markets show investors expect them to hike again.

South African inflation quickened to 4.5% in May amid surging energy prices and Kganyago warned last week that the central bank would take steps to keep inflation expectations anchored.

The governor warned against waiting too long to act, saying "if you are late to the game it is a different ballgame" and would require more aggressive tightening. Core inflation, which strips out energy and food prices, is expected to peak in the first quarter of next year, he said.

The central bank is navigating an uncertain environment complicated by geopolitical volatility and the inflationary effects of artificial intelligence in the short term.

On recent anti-migration protests in South Africa, Kganyago said the authorities acted decisively to maintain order while respecting constitutional rights to peaceful demonstration. He said he hasn't encountered investor concerns about political stability, noting "you saw decisive action coming from the South African authorities, and in the main the protests were peaceful."

Over 900 arrested during nationwide anti-migrant protests

South African police arrested more than 900 people during nationwide anti-migrant protests on Tuesday that were mostly peaceful but at times turned violent, with shops looted, police said on Wednesday.

Of 120 marches, 108 were peaceful while 12 required police intervention, deputy national police commissioner Tebello Mosikili told a press conference, adding reasons for the arrests ranged from immigration violations to public violence, harbouring undocumented migrants and robbery.

Police said in a separate statement that one person was shot dead late on Tuesday in Johannesburg's Alexandra township, where residents were looting informal cornershops known as spaza shops owned by foreign nationals.

Police reinforcements were deployed across five of the country's nine provinces overnight, while soldiers were sent to Johannesburg's inner-city Hillbrow neighbourhood, where two people were injured in a shooting.

In the port city of Durban police opened an inquest over the death of a foreign national who allegedly jumped from the eighth floor of a building on the eve of the protests, believing he was being targeted.

Tuesday's marches were organised to mark a "deadline" an anti-immigrant movement had set for undocumented migrants to leave South Africa.

The protests followed months of unrest that have drawn international criticism as foreigners have been driven from their homes and seen their businesses and property vandalised.

Tony Leon defends communications firm: 'We have never sought to influence ministers'

Tony Leon has denied allegations by fellow former DA leader John Steenhuisen that his communications firm, Resolve Communications, sought to influence DA ministers, saying the claims are false and that legal action is being considered.

Over the weekend, Steenhuisen alleged that Leon and former DA CEO Paul Boughey's company, Resolve Communications, drove a negative narrative around the foot-and-mouth disease vaccination campaign his department mounted.

Steenhuisen was recently removed as Minister of Agriculture by new DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis, a move that Steenhuisen said he was disappointed by.

Additionally, Steenhuisen claimed that Leon's firm had used its proximity to the party to get DA ministers to meet with its clients, an issue which Steenhuisen said he had raised internally in the DA.

Former Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment Dion George also said in a recent interview that he was approached by Leon and Resolve Communications to meet with their clients, but refused, and he also alluded to possible negative commentary against him, allegedly by Resolve Communications, as a result, but also stressed that he had no evidence to back this up.

George, however, also pointed to hypocrisy on the part of Steenhuisen, alleging that the former DA leader also approached him on multiple occasions to meet with organisations, which George said he had refused to do so, as it would have been a conflict of interest.

Political parties have called for an investigation into the allegations, with some likening them to 'State capture' corruption.

Leon, as chairperson of Resolve Communications, refuted any claims of State capture, arguing that his firm was being used in internal party factionalism.

"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," he stated.

More specifically, he said he found the comparison to State capture "objectionable", as someone who had opposed such corruption from the opposition benches.

He added that comparing his "law-abiding" firm's business to State capture was an insult to victims thereof, noting that no proof has been presented to back up the claims.

"Resolve has at all times acted lawfully, transparently and in accordance with the recognised standards of our profession," he stated.

Leon believes that the claims stem from political contests in party politics, which he strongly assured his company was not involved with.

"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," he warned.

South African cities shuttered as anti-migrant protests gather pace

Demonstrators wrapped in flags and wielding wooden sticks gathered across South Africa on Tuesday for anti-immigrant marches, some of which saw brief outbreaks of violence amid heavy police guard, as shops remained shut and foreign workers stayed at home.

Thousands of foreign nationals from elsewhere in Africa had already fled the country ahead of Tuesday's "deadline" set by the demonstrators for all undocumented migrants to leave.

In parts of the main commercial city Johannesburg and the port city of Durban, hundreds of protesters marched swathed in South African flags and carrying wooden batons, watched by police with armoured vehicles and support helicopters.

"People are not working, the jobs are being taken by illegal foreigners. It's not fair," said Silindile Xaba, 31, part of a group of women chanting anti-migrant slogans in central Durban.

VIOLENCE AGAINST MIGRANTS

Migrants have interpreted the deadline as a physical threat, and there were scattered signs of violence by midday, although marches were mostly peaceful. Police said they had arrested some looters, giving no further details.

In Thembisa, a northern suburb of Johannesburg, rioters threw stones at police and suspected migrants, while sporadic gunfire could be heard near the central business district.

National paper the Daily Maverick reported police deploying tactical vehicles and firing shots in Benoni, eastern Johannesburg, after being threatened by 500 protesters.

A police spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the densely populated township of Soweto, protesters looted some shacks of foreign nationals, national broadcaster SABC reported.

At least five people have been killed in violence since protests began in April, with thousands driven from their homes or seeing their businesses and property vandalised.

In such attacks, which have recurred sporadically in South Africa since 2008, little distinction is made between those who entered legally and those who did not.

The campaign group March and March, run by a former radio presenter behind the latest protests, denies encouraging violence, and says it cannot be held responsible for spontaneous acts of anger by South Africans towards undocumented migrants.

"We are trying to channel that anger towards the government," Jacinta Ngobese told Reuters in an interview two weeks ago.

"Unfortunately, we can't be in every single community telling them ... how to behave. They live with these people."

Landlords in Durban and Johannesburg were illegally evicting foreign tenants for fear of their buildings being vandalised, witnesses said.

"All these people, they were chased out by their landlords," said Mabako Majole, a leader of the Congolese community, standing beside around 100 people sleeping rough in downtown Durban. "All these people are legal. They have documents."

The marches in several cities are expected to draw many thousands of mostly poor or unemployed South Africans who blame foreign nationals for their hardships.

Thousands of police were deployed and military were on standby on an emergency budget of R600-million, a military spokesperson said.

The wave of anti-immigrant sentiment, and what critics say is a failure by police to protect victims, have tarnished South Africa's post-Nelson Mandela reputation as a defender of human rights and strained ties with other African nations.

Immigrants are blamed for taking jobs, driving crime and putting pressure on public services — claims that social scientists say lack evidence.

"There are streets in town where the shops are all run by foreigners. In my hometown (Ulundi), Ethiopians own a lot of shops. That hurts the people that were there before," Meluneki Dlamini, 31 and unemployed, told Reuters at the march in Durban.

Thirty years since the end of apartheid, South Africa remains unequal, economic growth is slow and a third of people are out of work. Despite this, i...

Inflation expectations rise before South Africa rate decision

South Africa's two-year inflation expectations climbed,complicating the central bank's efforts to anchor expectations around its 3% target.

Average inflation expectations two years ahead, the measure the central bank closely watches when setting interest rates, rose to 3.9% in the second quarter from 3.6% previously, according to a survey published by the Stellenbosch-based Bureau for Economic Research on Tuesday.

The survey was conducted between May 18 and June 4, before the US-Iran 60-day ceasefire deal reopened the Strait of Hormuz, sending global energy costs lower and triggering a decline in local fuel prices, which should see inflation ease in coming months.

Between survey rounds, annual inflation accelerated to 4.5% from 3% and gasoline prices hit a record.

South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago recently warned that policymakers would need to act on rising inflation expectations to prevent the impact of the oil shock from fanning broader price pressures.

"We now have inflation expectations, and expectations have drifted away from target," he told broadcaster CNBC Africa. "And what we have seen is that all price setters are expecting inflation higher, and that is what the central bank has got to act on, reining in those expectations."

Policymakers, who raised interest rates by 25 basis points to 7% at their last meeting, will deliver their next policy decision on July 23.

Broken system inflaming xenophobic tensions – Amnesty International

Ahead of the planned nationwide June 30 protests against illegal immigration, Amnesty International South Africa has accused government of inflaming tensions between South Africans and other African citizens residing in the country.

The human rights organisation said there is a need for broader systemic reform to ensure that migrants are lawfully documented and processed to live in South Africa.

"In persisting with a broken system that leaves those trying to claim asylum undocumented and in limbo, some for up to 19 years, the government is causing a divide and inflaming tensions between South African citizens and fellow Africans living in the country," the organisation stated.

Amnesty International South Africa executive director Shenilla Mohamed warned against using asylum seekers, refugees and migrants as excuses for unemployment, inequality and an overburdened public service, calling it wrong and dangerous.

"It distracts from the State's responsibility to deliver for all who live in South Africa and address the root causes. Violence and vigilantism will never fix these problems, they only destroy lives and deepen division," she added.

Thousands of African migrants began the process of leaving South Africa for their various home countries as protest group March and March proceeds with plans for nationwide protests on Tuesday: the organisation's unofficial deadline for undocumented persons to leave the country.

Fears of vandalism and violence, reminiscent of the 2008 xenophobic violence and the 2021 unrest in KwaZulu-Natal, have put South Africans and migrants on tenterhooks ahead of Tuesday.

Mohamed said while Amnesty International supports South Africans' right to protest, it must be done without violence or intimidation, warning against vigilantism and citizens taking the enforcement of immigration laws into their own hands.

"History has shown us where this path leads and how quickly things can turn deadly. Anyone taking the law into their own hands is breaking it. Impunity for xenophobic crimes has contributed to the continued discriminatory rhetoric and violence. The violation of people's rights to safety, security, dignity and life must not be allowed to continue," she cautioned.

ANC, ActionSA call for investigation into Steenhuisen's allegations against Tony Leon

The ANC and ActionSA on Monday issued separate statements calling for an investigation into the allegations made recently by former DA leader John Steenhuisen after he was removed as Minister of Agriculture.

The ANC stated that after years of the DA associating corruption with a black-led government, a former DA leader was making allegations against those in his own party, while ActionSA likened Steenhuisen's allegations to State capture.

Over the weekend, Steenhuisen alleged that former DA leader Tony Leon and former DA CEO Paul Boughey's communications firm Resolve Communications drove a negative narrative around the foot-and-mouth disease vaccination campaign against him.

Additionally, he claimed that the firm had used its proximity to the party to get DA Ministers to meet with its clients, which Steenhuisen said he had raised as an issue internally in the DA.

"These allegations raise important questions about ethical governance, accountability and the assault on the integrity of democratic institutions. These are matters that deserve to be addressed openly and transparently in the interests of maintaining public confidence in government," the ANC said.

ActionSA, meanwhile, urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to institute investigations into Steenhuisen's allegations, refer the matter to the Public Service Commission to determine whether standards of ethical governance and executive administration were compromised, and request that the Public Protector investigate whether any GNU Ministers breached the Executive Ethics Code.

"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 [Government of National Unity] Ministers entrusted with exercising public power solely in the national interest. To that end, the President cannot remain silent," the party said.

It added that if the allegations are not true, they should be publicly disproved.

"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," ActionSA said.

Meanwhile, the ANC also took aim at the DA for projecting administrations under its control as inherently more ethical and accountable, describing it as a "selective political narrative".

The ANC also called for an independent investigation into Steenhuisen's allegations, saying there cannot be separate standards for black-led organisations and another for the DA.

Ramaphosa warns against vandalism, violence ahead of June 30 protests

As South Africa gears up for national protests against illegal immigration, President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday stressed that while the right to protest is enshrined in the country's Constitution, intimidation, vandalism or violence will not be tolerated.

Thousands of African migrants began the process of leaving South Africa for their various home countries as protest group March and March proceeds with plans for nationwide protests on Tuesday.

Fears of vandalism and violence, reminiscent of the 2008 xenophobic violence and 2021 unrest in KwaZulu-Natal, have put South Africans and migrants on tenterhooks ahead of Tuesday.

Ramaphosa acknowledged the concerns from South Africans on illegal immigration and said the right to protest came with responsibility.

"The right to protest is one of the defining freedoms of our democracy, but every right carries corresponding responsibilities. Those who intend to protest should do so peacefully, lawfully and with respect for the rights, dignity and safety of others. Where there is criminal conduct, those responsible will be held accountable and the law will take its course. We must reject the idea that acts of violence or intimidation are justified on the basis of a grievance, for political reasons, or because those who commit such acts claim they were somehow provoked," he stated.

He added that there were many foreign nationals living in South Africa legally and who were also protected by the country's Constitution.

Ramaphosa further cautioned the protest organisers that they would be held to their assurances that their protestors would not descend into violence.

The President further acknowledged the pressure that illegal immigration placed on border control, criminality and the burden on public services and accepted that the immigration system needed "substantial" reform.

"We are strengthening border management, increasing enforcement against undocumented immigration, improving the integrity of the asylum and visa systems, and taking action against corruption that has weakened immigration control. We also recognise that where our systems have failed, they must be corrected. Where corruption has enabled illegal immigration, those responsible must be held accountable. Where enforcement has been inadequate, it must improve," he said.

However, he urged South Africans to work together to address the issues around illegal immigration, noting recent meetings with monarchs and other traditional leaders, trade union and business leaders, and those in the religious community.

He stated that these parts of society have lent their support for respect for the law during Tuesday's protests and warned against citizens taking over law enforcement tasks such as asking for identification and enforcing immigration laws.

He described these actions as vigilantism under the guise of patriotism.

"The painful history of the pass laws reminds us why the authority to demand identification and enforce immigration laws belongs to government law-enforcement officers acting within the Constitution—not to private individuals. Whatever the motivation, taking the law into one's own hands is vigilantism and has no place in our constitutional democracy.

"We must never allow ourselves to return to that painful chapter of our history where people were stopped on the street, had their physical identities scrutinised, and their right to move freely in the country hindered by suspicion and humiliation," Ramaphosa said.

He assured that police officials were prepared to defend the law on Tuesday should any acts of violence or vandalism occur.

Ramaphosa urged dialogue in dealing with illegal immigration, while protecting the country's Constitution.