The correspondence requests that the relevant Portfolio Committees summon the affected Ministers and Deputy Ministers to account for the nature and extent of their engagements with Resolve Communications and its clients, and to determine whether appropriate governance, transparency and ethical safeguards were observed. Where necessary, Parliament should also consider summoning representatives of Resolve Communications to assist committees in establishing the full facts.
This latest intervention follows ActionSA’s call on President Cyril Ramaphosa to institute an independent investigation into these allegations, as well as our complaint to the Public Protector requesting an investigation into whether the conduct in question constituted improper or unlawful conduct in relation to the exercise of public power.
The allegations made by former DA leader and now Deputy Minister John Steenhuisen, together with subsequent public statements by former Minister Dion George, suggest that these issues may extend beyond isolated engagements and warrant comprehensive parliamentary scrutiny.
South Africa cannot afford another State Capture era in which politically connected individuals or firms are perceived to enjoy privileged access to executive decision-making while ordinary South Africans are left outside the room. Whether these allegations ultimately reveal poor governance, ethical failures or no wrongdoing at all, Parliament has a constitutional duty to establish the facts.
ActionSA will also submit written parliamentary questions to every DA Minister and Deputy Minister at the first available opportunity after Parliament reconvenes. These questions will seek to establish the full extent of engagements with Resolve Communications, the clients represented during those engagements, the matters discussed, and whether any executive decisions followed.
Parliament exists to hold the Executive accountable. ActionSA is determined to ensure that every available oversight mechanism is utilised until South Africans have complete transparency regarding these serious allegations.
ActionSA Gauteng Powerhouse: Focused initially on Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, and Tshwane.
Fire Feline
These days, the pizza arrives before the police.
Hemlock
Yugoslavia: You have two cows. They die right after giving birth to 20 new cows.