Minister perks and broader definition of corruption — ActionSA’s legislative proposals

ActionSA will be tabling several pieces of legislation aimed at reshaping the way South Africa is governed.

Targeting wasted public funds and corruption, the party has two bills and two constitutional amendments that it wishes to introduce to gain a tighter hold on both issues.

Senior party members gave a presentation on Monday, where they detailed the legislation and their “patriotic” intentions.

Cutting ministerial perks

The two bills ActionSA plan to introduce in parliament are the Zero-Tolerance Corruption Bill and the Cut Cabinet Perks Bill.

The corruption bill would introduce mandatory minimum sentences for corruption and permanently disqualify those found guilty of corruption from holding public office.

The proposed bill would also target private sector players who benefit from government corruption, including business executives and those involved in procurement.

Parliamentarian Dereleen James said corruption was the number one barrier to solving South Africa’s problems and envisioned a government where accountability was “a daily commitment to excellence”.

ActionSA’s corruption bill would also broaden the definition of corruption to criminalise coercive abuses of political power, price gouging in procurements, and gross negligence.

Constitutional amendments

The second bill goes hand-in-hand with constitutional amendments that would abolish deputy ministers and limit the president’s authority to make cabinet appointments.

The bill aimed at cutting parliamentary perks borrows heavily from a bill tabled by the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Leon Schreiber, but parliamentary leader Athol Trollip accused his former party of having acquired a taste for power.

“[The bill was] later abandoned by the DA once they joined the ANC and became beneficiaries of these very perks,” said Trollip.

He explained that this “cabinet reform package” would save R1.5 billion per year on deputy ministers, arguing that section 93 of the constitution of South Africa did not state deputy appointments were mandatory.

“In the first few months since their appointment in July 2024, just over half of the ministers have cumulatively blown R143.5 million on travel alone,” Trollip said.

The proposed amendment to section 91 of the Constitution would require parliament to approve all cabinet appointments, with ActionSA hoping this oversight mechanism would weed out corrupt ministers.

Policy of non-alignment

Trollip believes his party is an important pivot that is not aligned with the government of national unity or the progressive caucus, but one that addresses issues on their merits.

“ActionSA is committed to being a constructive opposition that punches far above its weight and leverages its legislative access to drive meaningful reforms,” he said.

“These pieces of legislation cut across political party lines. We will mobilise among political parties to say ‘if you are patriotic, and you believe corruption is a scourge,’… join us,” Trollip added.

“Parties who vote against it will have to put their hand to their heart and say, ‘We are voting against this because we endorse corruption’,” he concluded.

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