Maravi

(NEWZIMBABWE) One in two Zimbabweans has bribed police: report

One in two Zimbabweans has bribed police: report
23/11/2011 00:00:00
by Staff Reporter

ONE in two Zimbabweans has paid a bribe to a police officer in the last 12 months, a shock new report claims. A staggering 36 percent of people who have dealt with the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) say they have also paid bribes, according to the survey of six Southern African countries published by Transparency International this week.

On a perception scale of one to five, where one means “not at all corrupt” and five means “extremely corrupt”, Zimbabweans gave the police a four; politicians, civil servants and the judiciary a three while journalists, NGOs and churches got a two.

Of the 1,000 Zimbabweans surveyed, 42 percent said they paid bribes to “speed things up”, 30 percent to “avoid a problem with authorities” and 28 percent “to receive a service they are entitled to”.

The survey of more than 6,000 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe between 2010 and 2011 also found that across the region, 62 percent of people believe corruption has become worse in the past three years.

The survey shows that the DRC is the most corrupt in the region, topping the bribery scale in all but one of the nine key service providers analysed. The DRC (22 percent) only comes second best to Mozambique (35 percent) in medical services corruption.

Chantal Uwimana, Transparency International’s Regional Director said: “Governments must wake up to the fact that people will not tolerate corruption anymore and start reforming weak institutions, particularly the police.
“People have a right to feel that they are protected by the police and not harassed.”

The ‘Daily Lives and Corruption, Public Opinion in Southern Africa’ makes for grim reading, but there is also some good news: 80 percent of those interviewed said they were prepared to get involved in the fight against corruption and three-quarters said ordinary people can make a difference in the fight against corruption.

The Bribes Index By Service and Country

Labels: BRIBERY, CORRUPTION

posted by MrK @ 7:00 AM