Dy

[Redi Tlhabi @RediTlhabi]

Mmmmm....South Africa..le a bona....

[Dy @dy_ighost]

@GvanOnselen Ohhh I see, the good ole deflection attempt to avoid very real concerns about Tony Leon’s involvement in GNU negotiations and ‘lobbying’ of DA ministers for one of his clients known to spread disinformation globally about South Africa

[Dy @dy_ighost]

@RyanCoetzee @ScholtzSusan These condescending remarks are not going to help you, the DA or the scandal at hand. Questions remain unanswered by DA leadership

[Dy @dy_ighost]

@ZungulaVuyo Don’t talk shit, the immigration crisis didn’t start after June 2024. Home Affairs under the ANC is what caused the crisis. Under Schreiber, deportations are doubling and even tripling compared to previous years. Yes, more can be done still but reform of this size takes time.

[Dy @dy_ighost]

@zilevandamme This scandal requires a public response by Solly Malatsi alongside Geordin Hill-Lewis. The DA must distance its relationship with Tony Leon and cut ties with his firm. A terrible look for the party right now.

[Phumzile Van Damme @zilevandamme]

Ah ah ah ah. The saga continues. 🙆🏾‍♀️

Per this story, concerning a document said to have been submitted by the DA as part of the GNU negotiations, the DA is said to have demanded that Starlink be selected as a LEO service provider. The ANC reportedly said no, that’s not how service providers are appointed.

At the same time, mind you, Amazon was also seeking a licence, so Starlink was not the only player in the game. But because Starlink was a Resolve client, and Tony Leon was part of the GNU negotiations, the ANC is said to have been pressed to give his client preferential political treatment.

If accurate, that would mean a political negotiation was being used to influence what should have been an independent regulatory outcome involving the private client of a political player. The DA would have endorsed that approach. What was allegedly being sought was essentially the substitution of a political process for the independent regulatory process entrusted to the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa. A constitutional body.

That is an extraordinary allegation. If true, what would you call it? That would be: corruption. Political interference in an independent institution? An attempt to secure political preference for a private client? Those are serious questions that demand serious answers.

INSANE. I genuinely don’t know what to say. 🤯

I happen to like Geordin. He inherited this, but leadership now owns the response. It needs to be dealt with immediately. He needs to clean house and restore order. Right now, it is chaotic.

The DA also needs to decide who speaks for the party. The messaging has been disastrous, as has the tone. Ryan increasingly acts as the GNU spokesperson. Is that messaging party-approved? Is he authorised to speak on behalf of DA Ministers on here? Do the respective Ministers approve his statements before he posts? Gareth acts as an attack dog, at times positioning himself as speaking on behalf of the DA. There are multiple competing voices, often contradicting one another, and a tone that is crass, dismissive, and quick to label anyone who disagrees as “stupid.” Is that really how the DA wants to communicate with the public? Is that party-sanctioned?

Kubi!

I hope the DA caucus demands answers and insists this is fixed. The longer these questions go unanswered, the greater the damage to the DA’s brand. The longer a clear blue line is not drawn in the sand, the greater the reputational cost.

Good luck.

[Dy @dy_ighost]

@RyanCoetzee “Few things make SA X crazier than the name Elon Musk” - yes because the guy engages in disinformation about South Africa just about every week. Whether you like it or not, this is a bad look and makes DA ministers all appear compromised until this is “resolved”.

[Verashni Pillay @verashni]

The conflict of interest in the Tony Leon saga is beautifully laid out here: "Tony, you chair the committees that stitch up the fate of DA leaders. You personally headed the DA's team to negotiate the establishment of the GNU, including the composition of the same Cabinet on whose doors you later came knocking on behalf of your clients.

So, when Solly Malatsi is invited, as Communications Minister, to a meeting with Starlink by your firm, it was not just a meeting requested by a normal corporate citizen, was it? Rather, it was a meeting requested by the person who negotiated Solly Malatsi's party's entry into the GNU and its stewardship of the Ministry of Communications. "

[Dy @dy_ighost]

@DanielSilke Be for real, major allegations have been levelled against a former DA leader who is actively involved in a conflict of interest between his client and other DA members with geopolitical ramifications.

[Hannah Cox @HannahDCox]

It’s a pretty widely accepted fact that stupid people are happier and less aware of the world around them, so it’s always weird when maga thinks this is a mic drop.

[Dy @dy_ighost]

@Our_DA @ricardomackenzi A DA-led national government beholden to Western and corporate interests through Resolve Communications? Rectify this, it’s an embarrassment.

[͏b͏l͏a͏n͏c @dqveed]

He cheated on his wife with a porn star.

[Seyed Mohammad Marandi @s_m_marandi]

Cowardly Western journalists are silent.

[Dy @dy_ighost]

@zilevandamme This matter is going to make a lot of voters rethink their vote moving forward. Very concerning.

[Seyed Mohammad Marandi @s_m_marandi]

The BBC doesn't want you to know that the Zionists raped him to death

[Dr. NSPM-7 Whoa🔻🌺 @dasmadchengyal]

Clarence Thomas would rule to make himself a slave again if someone petitioned the court for it.

[Dy @dy_ighost]

This is a huge legitimacy issue for the DA ahead of the local government elections. Resembles ANC-style behaviour. This must be condemned. @TonyLeonSA still has questions to answer. @Our_DA @geordinhl

[Verashni Pillay @verashni]

For those keeping track, that's FOUR former DA leaders working in government/parliament who are on the record saying they were pressurised by Tony Leon's Resolve Communications in ways they found irregular.

1. Herman Mashaba, former DA Mayor of Jhb
2. Dion George, former DA minister of forestry, fisheries and environment
3. John Steenhuisen, former DA minister of agriculture (though he seemed hilariously hazy on how much of a problem this was)
4. Phumzile Van Damme, former DA MP, who added that Leon tried this with many other DA MPs as well.

But Leon's defenders would have us believe ALL these people just have an axe to grind and what he was doing was completely normal. Really?

[Verashni Pillay @verashni]

For those keeping track, that's FOUR former DA leaders working in government/parliament who are on the record saying they were pressurised by Tony Leon's Resolve Communications in ways they found irregular.

1. Herman Mashaba, former DA Mayor of Jhb
2. Dion George, former DA minister of forestry, fisheries and environment
3. John Steenhuisen, former DA minister of agriculture (though he seemed hilariously hazy on how much of a problem this was)
4. Phumzile Van Damme, former DA MP, who added that Leon tried this with many other DA MPs as well.

But Leon's defenders would have us believe ALL these people just have an axe to grind and what he was doing was completely normal. Really?

[Clement Manyathela @TheRealClementM]

Update : The CEO of Resolve Communications has agreed to come on @Radio702 tomorrow at 9am. Let’s hear how they explain this. Don’t miss it.

[Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan]

Has Elon Musk tweeted about this guy yet? If not, why not?