Overview
- Last weekend former agriculture minister John Steenhuisen told media that Tony Leon and ex-DA CEO Paul Boughey used Resolve Communications to arrange and press meetings between private clients and DA ministers on issues including the foot‑and‑mouth disease response and Starlink.
- Tony Leon and Resolve Communications have strongly denied any unlawful conduct, said no documentary evidence has been produced, and warned they are considering legal action over defamatory claims.
- The ANC and ActionSA have demanded independent probes, with ActionSA’s Michael Beaumont publishing an open letter, preparing a Public Protector complaint and lodging parliamentary questions to DA ministers about their engagements with Resolve.
- So far no public documents have been released to substantiate Steenhuisen’s claims, leaving the dispute defined by competing public statements and deepening visible factional tensions inside the DA.
- Resolve’s past role with FMD Response SA and Leon’s prominence in negotiating the Government of National Unity are key pieces of context that critics say explain the political sensitivity of the allegations and why formal oversight or parliamentary scrutiny could follow.