DA to report Bell Pottinger to international PR bodies for unethical behaviour
The DA has written to the UK-based Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) as well as the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) to lodge formal complaints against Bell Pottinger on allegations that they promoted racial hatred in South Africa.
Duduzane Zuma, in his capacity as a Gupta employee, procured the services of Bell Pottinger in what seems to have been an attempt to divide and conquer the South African public by exploiting racial tensions in a bid to keep Jacob Zuma and the ANC in power.
Bell Pottinger is a member of the PRCA and the CIPR. Both have a clear a code of conduct that PR firms must adhere to.
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”.
Moreover, Section 1(a), (c) and (d) of the CIPR Code of Conduct, states that “[m]embers of the [CIPR] agree to: a) maintain the highest standards of professional endeavour, integrity, confidentiality, financial propriety and personal conduct; c) respect, in their dealings with other people, the legal and regulatory frameworks and codes of all countries where they practise; d) uphold the reputation of, and do nothing that would bring into disrepute, the public relations profession or the [CIPR]”.