ActionSA unveils new whistleblowers protection bill

ActionSA has on Thursday unveiled a new bill to tighten whistleblower protection and to provide for incentives to those who put their lives on the line to expose rot.

The party’s parliamentary leader Athol Trollip said Minister of Justice Mmamoloko Kubayi has been too slow to act in amending the Protected Disclosures Act.

In December, security specialist Marius van der Merwe was killed just two weeks after delivering testimony at the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry into allegations of police corruption.

Through its so-called “Fallen Whistleblowers’ Bill” ActionSA is proposing more robust safeguards to ensure anonymity and protection.

With public procurement worth R800 billion annually, ActionSA said it’s at the heart of the country’s corruption and that whistleblowers must be incentivised to blow the lid on graft.

Member of Parliament (MP) Malebo Kobe said consideration must be given to the amount of money that is lost to the state if whistleblowers don’t come forward to expose corruption.

ActionSA’s Public Procurement Amendment Bill is proposing incentives of between 15% and 25% of the recovered funds.

“If we are to bring back at least 85% of that money, 15% goes back to you for your courage and we reward you as a state. I think that’s an excellent trade-off for the bravery that they’ve shown.”

Furthermore, the amendment bill makes provision for private prosecutions in cases where the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) fails or refuses to act.

The party said this is but one of the first in a suite of anti-corruption bills it plans to introduce to Parliament in 2026.