ActionSA has introduced a private member’s bill aimed at significantly tightening South Africa’s legal response to corruption by introducing mandatory minimum prison sentences and lowering the threshold for reporting financial crimes.
The Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Amendment Bill, introduced by ActionSA MP Dereleen James, seeks to amend the existing anti-corruption framework to impose harsher penalties on individuals convicted of corrupt activities.
If passed, the legislation would represent one of the most significant proposed changes to South Africa’s anti-corruption sentencing framework since the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act (Precca) was enacted more than two decades ago.
At the centre of the proposal is the introduction of mandatory minimum sentences for corruption offences — something South African law currently does not provide for under Precca.
The bill proposes that corruption cases heard in the high courts carry a minimum sentence of 18 years’ imprisonment, with the possibility of life imprisonment, while cases heard in regional courts would carry a minimum sentence of 15 years. In magistrates’ courts, the minimum sentence would be five years, with a maximum of 10 years.
The bill also allows courts to impose a lesser sentence only where “substantial and compelling circumstances” exist, which would have to be formally recorded in the proceedings.
According to the explanatory memorandum attached to the bill, the proposed changes are intended to strengthen deterrence and restore confidence in the country’s anti-corruption framework
In addition to tougher sentencing, the proposed legislation would increase penalties for failing to disclose that a company or individual has been blacklisted for corruption. The maximum fine for such offences would be doubled from R250,000 to R500,000, while the possible prison sentence would increase from three years to five years.
Another key provision of the bill lowers the mandatory reporting threshold for financial crimes. Under the amendment, accounting officers and others who become aware of theft, fraud, extortion, forgery or the use of forged documents involving R30,000 or more would be legally required to report it to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, commonly known as the Hawks. The current reporting threshold is R100,000.
According to the explanatory memorandum attached to the bill, the proposed changes are intended to strengthen deterrence and restore confidence in the country’s anti-corruption framework, which ActionSA argues has failed to produce consistent accountability despite the lessons of state capture.
Announcing the legislation, James said the proposal forms part of ActionSA’s broader anti-corruption reform agenda and was designed to end what she described as a culture of impunity.
“Every year between R27bn and R100bn is stolen through corruption in South Africa,” she said. “The truth is this: as South Africans we are simply not gatvol enough.”
Corruption directly undermines service delivery and public safety, particularly in vulnerable communities, she said.
“When I visit police stations in the Cape Flats, and there is only one working police vehicle to serve tens of thousands of residents while gangs terrorise communities — that is the consequence of corruption.”
This bill introduces mandatory minimum sentences for corruption — something South Africa has never had before. This sends a clear message: corruption will no longer be treated lightly
— Dereleen James, ActionSA MP
She also criticised what she described as a political culture that protects individuals implicated in wrongdoing.
“We have created a culture that rewards corruption instead of punishing it,” James said, adding that individuals accused of corruption often behave as if they are “untouchable”.
According to James, the bill is intended to send a clear signal that corruption will carry severe consequences.
“This bill introduces mandatory minimum sentences for corruption — something South Africa has never had before. This sends a clear message: corruption will no longer be treated lightly.”
She argued stronger sentencing provisions and stricter reporting requirements would help end what she described as an entrenched culture of corruption in the country.
“In South Africa, corruption will no longer pay. And if you steal from the people of this country — you will rot in jail.”
The bill has been introduced in the National Assembly as a section 75 bill, meaning it deals with matters that do not directly affect the provinces and will therefore be processed primarily through the National Assembly before being considered by the National Council of Provinces.
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