ActionSA is proud to announce our Cabinet Reform Package and the Zero-Tolerance Corruption Bill as two bold legislative actions for 2025. This will mark the most significant overhaul of the Executive since 1994 and represent the most radical reform of key legislation aimed at combating corruption in South Africa.
ActionSA is committed to being a constructive opposition that punches far above its weight and leverages its legislative access to drive meaningful reforms. Today’s announcement demonstrates the powerful impact our representation in Parliament to act decisively in the fight against executive excess and the pernicious cancer that is corruption.
As such, today’s announcement marks the first suite of ActionSA’s bold initiatives for our term in the 7th Parliament, set to fundamentally reshape governance in South Africa and strike at the very heart of corruption, a pernicious cancer that ActionSA has long declared Public Enemy Number 1.
Cabinet Reform Package
As South Africa grapples with a fiscal crisis driven by reckless government wastage, ActionSA’s Cabinet Reform Package offers a solution to eliminate R1.5 billion in taxpayer funds squandered on a bloated Executive every year. This indulgence in wasteful perks allows 32 Ministers, 43 Deputy Ministers, and their large staff complements to live in luxury while demanding that taxpayers, who fund their billion-rand rockstar lifestyles, tighten their belts and accept potential tax increases.
As the first bold measure as part of our Cabinet Reform Package to close the taps on Executive wastage, ActionSA will be tabling a Constitutional Amendment to Abolish Deputy Ministers entirely from the Cabinet structure by amending Section 91 (Cabinet) and repealing Section 93 (Deputy Ministers) of the Constitution.
This will be done in conjunction with a Constitutional Amendment requiring Parliament to Ratify Cabinet Appointments within a set timeframe by amending to Section 92 of the Constitution. This will, for the first time, introduce Parliamentary vetting of ministerial appointments by the President, thereby enhancing oversight and accountability of the executive.
Secondly, as part of our Cabinet Reform Package, we will urgently table the Cut Cabinet Perks Bill—a piece of legislation previously introduced but later abandoned by the DA once they joined the ANC and became beneficiaries of these very perks.
This will amend the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers Act, 1998 to drastically reduce excessive Ministerial allowances, housing perks, travel expenses and superfluous VIP protection. The extent of this waste continues to be exposed in our GNU Performance Tracker, which reveals that, 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.
ActionSA’s Cabinet Reform Package introduces groundbreaking reforms that will right size Cabinet, introduce robust oversight of the appointment of ministers, and curb excessive luxuries that have led to taxpayer funds being squandered on the lavish lifestyles of a bloated political elite.
The Zero-Tolerance Corruption Bill
ActionSA’s third legislative action will be our Zero-Tolerance Corruption Bill, aimed at addressing the glaring limitations of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act (PRECCA), specifically in its definition of corruption and accountability.
In tackling these failures, exposed most notably during the most egregious era of State Capture, ActionSA’s legislative action focuses on strengthening PRECCA to effectively combat corruption and punish those who perpetrate it.
By expanding the definition of corruption, to explicitly include the abuse of political power, price-gouging in public procurement, and gross negligence the Bill will close key loopholes The Bill will criminalise the non-reporting of corruption, extend liability to those who should have been aware of corrupt activities but failed to act, and encompass private sector corruption to reinforce corporate accountability.
To strengthen deterrence and accountability, ActionSA’s Zero-Tolerance Corruption Bill will legislate stricter penalties, anchored on three key provisions:
1. Mandatory Minimum Sentences: Increasing the minimum sentence for corruption involving transactions exceeding R500 000 to 15 years’ imprisonment, with no option of a fine or parole.
2. Robust Sanctions for Private Sector Corruption: Holding individuals and corporations accountable through mandatory repayment of corruptly acquired funds and additional punitive penalties.
3. Permanent Disqualification: Barring anyone convicted of corruption from holding public office, serving as an accounting officer, working for the state or registered non-profits, or holding elected positions within political parties.
ActionSA is not here to just deliver speeches, but to act with purpose to drive real reforms and oversight. These overdue reforms should gain the support of all parties who profess to want to cut wastage and fight corruption. This will become a defining set of legislative actions that reinforces Parliament’s vital role in our constitutional democracy, where the best interests of South Africans are always put first.
ActionSA Unveils Bold Legislative Actions to Overhaul the Cabinet and End Corruption
ActionSA is proud to announce our Cabinet Reform Package and the Zero-Tolerance Corruption Bill as two bold legislative actions for 2025. This will mark the most significant overhaul of the Executive since 1994 and represent the most radical reform of key legislation aimed at combating corruption in South Africa.
ActionSA is committed to being a constructive opposition that punches far above its weight and leverages its legislative access to drive meaningful reforms. Today’s announcement demonstrates the powerful impact our representation in Parliament to act decisively in the fight against executive excess and the pernicious cancer that is corruption.
As such, today’s announcement marks the first suite of ActionSA’s bold initiatives for our term in the 7th Parliament, set to fundamentally reshape governance in South Africa and strike at the very heart of corruption, a pernicious cancer that ActionSA has long declared Public Enemy Number 1.
Cabinet Reform Package
As South Africa grapples with a fiscal crisis driven by reckless government wastage, ActionSA’s Cabinet Reform Package offers a solution to eliminate R1.5 billion in taxpayer funds squandered on a bloated Executive every year. This indulgence in wasteful perks allows 32 Ministers, 43 Deputy Ministers, and their large staff complements to live in luxury while demanding that taxpayers, who fund their billion-rand rockstar lifestyles, tighten their belts and accept potential tax increases.
As the first bold measure as part of our Cabinet Reform Package to close the taps on Executive wastage, ActionSA will be tabling a Constitutional Amendment to Abolish Deputy Ministers entirely from the Cabinet structure by amending Section 91 (Cabinet) and repealing Section 93 (Deputy Ministers) of the Constitution.
This will be done in conjunction with a Constitutional Amendment requiring Parliament to Ratify Cabinet Appointments within a set timeframe by amending to Section 92 of the Constitution. This will, for the first time, introduce Parliamentary vetting of ministerial appointments by the President, thereby enhancing oversight and accountability of the executive.
Secondly, as part of our Cabinet Reform Package, we will urgently table the Cut Cabinet Perks Bill—a piece of legislation previously introduced but later abandoned by the DA once they joined the ANC and became beneficiaries of these very perks.
This will amend the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers Act, 1998 to drastically reduce excessive Ministerial allowances, housing perks, travel expenses and superfluous VIP protection. The extent of this waste continues to be exposed in our GNU Performance Tracker, which reveals that, 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.
ActionSA’s Cabinet Reform Package introduces groundbreaking reforms that will right size Cabinet, introduce robust oversight of the appointment of ministers, and curb excessive luxuries that have led to taxpayer funds being squandered on the lavish lifestyles of a bloated political elite.
The Zero-Tolerance Corruption Bill
ActionSA’s third legislative action will be our Zero-Tolerance Corruption Bill, aimed at addressing the glaring limitations of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act (PRECCA), specifically in its definition of corruption and accountability.
In tackling these failures, exposed most notably during the most egregious era of State Capture, ActionSA’s legislative action focuses on strengthening PRECCA to effectively combat corruption and punish those who perpetrate it.
By expanding the definition of corruption, to explicitly include the abuse of political power, price-gouging in public procurement, and gross negligence the Bill will close key loopholes The Bill will criminalise the non-reporting of corruption, extend liability to those who should have been aware of corrupt activities but failed to act, and encompass private sector corruption to reinforce corporate accountability.
To strengthen deterrence and accountability, ActionSA’s Zero-Tolerance Corruption Bill will legislate stricter penalties, anchored on three key provisions:
1. Mandatory Minimum Sentences: Increasing the minimum sentence for corruption involving transactions exceeding R500 000 to 15 years’ imprisonment, with no option of a fine or parole.
2. Robust Sanctions for Private Sector Corruption: Holding individuals and corporations accountable through mandatory repayment of corruptly acquired funds and additional punitive penalties.
3. Permanent Disqualification: Barring anyone convicted of corruption from holding public office, serving as an accounting officer, working for the state or registered non-profits, or holding elected positions within political parties.
ActionSA is not here to just deliver speeches, but to act with purpose to drive real reforms and oversight. These overdue reforms should gain the support of all parties who profess to want to cut wastage and fight corruption. This will become a defining set of legislative actions that reinforces Parliament’s vital role in our constitutional democracy, where the best interests of South Africans are always put first.