The PR company linked to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya
Vincent Magwenya, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, is closely linked to the communications agency, Conversations Media & Communications.
This, Resolve Communications chief executive Paul Bowie said, should warrant questions about the use of political influence to benefit clients.
The issue of agencies using political influence was raised by former Agriculture Minister and DA leader John Steenhuisen about Tony Leon’s Resolve Communications.
He accused Leon of using his clout in the Democratic Alliance to pressure DA Ministers to do favours for his agency’s clients.
Leon denied the allegations, saying they actively sought to mischaracterise and distort their work at Resolve Communications.
“We are one of many such firms operating here and globally, doing work that is entirely lawful, entirely proper, and entirely necessary in a functioning democracy,” he said.
Commenting on the issue, Bowie said, “Do you know that the spokesperson in the presidency has his own communications firm? Does that question get asked to him?”
President Ramaphosa appointed Magwenya as his spokesperson on 1 June 2022, and he still serves in that role.
Magwenya was CEO of PR agency Magna Carta from 2013 to 2016, before establishing Conversations Media and Communications, where he has served as CEO.
Newsday visited Conversations Media & Communications’ social media pages. It found that the activity stopped three years ago.
Newsday asked Magwenya whether he still owned Conversations Media and Communications, but he did not answer.
He also did not say whether he was still operationally involved in running the reputation management and brand communications agency.
Vincent Magwenya’s firm, Conversations Media & Communications
Conversations Media & Communications (CMC), founded in 2015 by Vincent Magwenya, is a reputation management and brand communications agency.
Before he started the company, he served as director of communications for Standard Bank Africa and director of relations management for the Standard Bank Group.
Conversations Media & Communications offers a range of reputation management and brand communications services to clients.
These services promise to enhance their profile, manage their reputation, improve their bottom line, grow their markets and deliver their desired outcomes.
“We understand that communication is not merely a tick-box exercise but contributes to organisational success and the bottom line,” it said.
Its clients include companies, diplomatic missions, industry associations, tertiary institutions, and business leaders with the full suite of communication services.
Conversations Media & Communications is based in Johannesburg, South Africa, but operates throughout Africa.
Its clients include the University of Cape Town, the Tshwane University of Technology, the European Union (EU), and the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority.
Others are Siyavuma, Canback Consulting, CCI South Africa, CEO Circle Entrepreneurs, Grinaker LTA, the Lenmed Private Hospital Group, and SAMPA.
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This whole thing is political noise. Steenhuisen is exacting his revenge for being sidelined by the DA – following in the footsteps of every politician ever (see: Action SA, EFF, MK, BOSA, GOOD, etc), and these exact same political opponents are jumping on it to prop themselves up ahead of the elections.
The ANC—the party at the heart of state capture and endless corruption—are laughably trying to frame it as something they have any moral authority to speak out against. The ANC will waggle their finger at alleged corruption while its president appoints a disgraced member as a cabinet minister. It’s a bad joke.
Politicians in South Africa are a joke. All of them. Every party is full of dirt and disgrace like this. When it comes to voting time, all you can do is put a cross next to the name that will hopefully steal the least.