Zimpapers Logo

LUSAKA. – The Zambia Police Service has continued to be ranked as the country’s most corrupt public institution, according to a 2014 bribe index released by a corruption watchdog yesterday.

The 2014 Zambia Bribe Payers Index, jointly conducted by Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), shows that the police service topped the list of government institutions were bribery was rife followed by the Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) on second position.

According to the index, bribe demand increased by 6,7 percent in 2014 compared to 4,7 percent in 2012 and, bribery demand was most prevalent among supervisor and junior staff categories in the public service.

The index shows that the level of bribery payment to the police increased to 78,3 percent in 2014 compared to 48,3 percent in 2012. The Index also shows that the prevalence of bribery worsened in 2014, with 57,1 percent of respondents paying bribes to public officials for a service compared to 44,6 percent in 2012.

This is mainly due to avoiding delays, fear of service denial and the belief that it is a normal trend to pay a bribe. Other public institutions where corruption is still rife include local governments, National Registration Office, Ministry of Lands and Ministry of Education.

Goodwell Lungu, the executive director of the corruption watchdog, said during the release of the index that most people pay bribes because they felt it was normal to do so.

The organisation, he said, will start conducting awareness campaigns in the Zambia Police traffic section and the road safety agency as part of efforts to reduce the levels of corruption among officials in the two public institutions.

“Figures don’t lie. The findings of the 2014 Zambia Bribe Payers Index to a considerable extent shows us that the magnitude, incidence and severity of corruption by the public when seeking public service is still undesirable, and that it has worsened in some instances and unfortunately it’s prevalent among us who live in urban areas,” he added. – Xinhua.