DA makes complaint to associations against Bell Pottinger

THE DA has lodged formal complaints with two international public relations bodies against Bell Pottinger for allegedly promoting racial hatred in South Africa.

The DA’s Phumzile van Damme said the party had written to the UK-based Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) as well as the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) urging them to investigate the allegations.

Bell Pottinger was a member of both bodies, which had clear codes of conduct for members, she said.

Duduzane Zuma‚ in his capacity as a Gupta employee‚ allegedly procured the services of Bell Pottinger in what Van Damme said seemed to have been an attempt to divide and conquer the South African public by exploiting racial tensions in a bid to keep his father‚ President Jacob Zuma‚ and the ANC in power.

According to Section 4 of the PRCA professional charter pertaining to discriminatory conduct, “[a] member is required to take all reasonable care that professional duties are conducted without causing offence on the grounds of race or any other form of discrimination or unacceptable reference”‚ Van Damme said.

Section 1 of the CIPR code of conduct referred to the upholding of professional and ethical standards.

“In a leaked Gupta e-mail‚ Nick Lambert‚ a senior adviser at Bell Pottinger‚ identifies key moments in a speech delivered by ANC Youth League leader Collen Maine,” Van Damme said.

“These key moments include the following quote: ‘Those who want to disrupt the State of the Nation speech must prepare themselves for a civil war’.

“It is disturbing that the incitement of a civil war in South Africa is identified as a key moment by a Bell Pottinger adviser.”

Furthermore‚ in another e-mail‚ Bell Pottinger’s financial and corporate partner‚ Victoria Geoghegan‚ met Duduzane Zuma to strategise a campaign aimed at marketing a “narrative that grabs the attention of the grassroots population who must identify with it‚ connect with it and feel united by it”.

“From this correspondence‚ it seems as though Bell Pottinger was likely requested by Mr Zuma to undermine the ANC’s communication on policies in order to benefit the Gupta family.

“The DA has written to these bodies to lodge formal complaints against Bell Pottinger as it has seemingly violated [their] codes of conduct and behaved in an unethical manner.”

Any attempt by a PR agency to ferment racial divisions in South Africa could not be tolerated‚ Van Damme said.