President Cyril Ramaphosa has accused former Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Tony Leon of conduct that "smacks of state capture".

Ramaphosa was speaking this afternoon on the sidelines of a visit to King Dalimvula Matanzima at Qamata Great Place in Cofimvaba, where he was launching the African National Congress's (ANC) Chris Hani region volunteer drive ahead of the 4 November municipal elections.

"With regard to the allegations we are hearing about Tony Leon, this really smacks of the type of state capture that has been discussed," he said. "The very people who have been campaigning against state capture are now themselves deeply immersed in actively influencing where contracts should go."

Earlier The Common Sense reported on almost 20 allegations that have now been thrown at the former DA leader and head of the lobbying firm Resolve Communications.

But for all the noise, The Common Sense has been unable to divine an offence, let alone a crime, from that list.

Instead the accusations appear to form part of a proxy war against the DA, one that seeks to conflate the party with the state capture allegations historically levelled at the ANC.