ActionSA MP Dereleen James called the Zero-Tolerance Corruption Bill ‘deeply personal,’ saying corruption steals billions at the expense of ordinary South Africans.

• ActionSA wants to introduce mandatory minimum prison sentences for corruption through its Zero‑Tolerance Corruption Bill.
• The bill seeks to ensure harsher punishment for corrupt activities through amendments to the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act 12 of 2004.
• Other amendments include lowering the fraud/forgery reporting threshold for accounting officers and tougher sanctions for failing to disclose procurement blacklisting.

ActionSA announced its Zero-Tolerance Corruption Bill on Thursday, the second of its anti-corruption reform agenda, which the party says will “end the culture of consequence-free looting”.

The private members’ bill, introduced by its MP and ad hoc committee member, Dereleen James, seeks to introduce minimum mandatory sentences for corruption offences through amendments to the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act 12 of 2004.

The minimum sentences range from five years’ imprisonment for a case tried in a magistrate’s court to 15 years for a regional court case and 18 years for a High Court case.

Other amendments include a lower mandatory reporting threshold for fraud and forgery by accounting officers, lowering the amount from R100 000 to R30 000. And stricter penalties for individuals who fail to disclose that they have been blacklisted from public procurement. These individuals will face a doubled fine of up to R500 000 and an increased maximum prison sentence of five years if ActionSA has its way.

James said the bill, which has been a year in the making, was “deeply personal” and shaped by what she had witnessed since arriving in Parliament, and by the tales of ordinary South Africans whose lives were being “destroyed by the consequences of corruption”.

She added:

James estimated that between R27 billion and R100 billion was stolen from South Africans annually through corruption.

She said these losses directly impacted frontline services, such as police visibility on the Cape Flats and the availability of social workers to combat drug addiction.

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ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba supported the bill, stating that the party was declaring a “year of war on corruption”.

He said the party would reveal the remaining “major pieces of legislation”, which follow the “Fallen Whistleblowers Bill” and “Zero-Tolerance Corruption Bill”, that form its anti-corruption reform package in the coming months.

The public is invited to submit written comments on the bill to Parliament before 12 April 2026.