Sixty-nine percent of poll respondents from Mozambique said that they had paid a bribe in the last 12 months to receive a public service
LONDON (TrustLaw) – Nearly two thirds of people in southern Africa believe corruption increased over the last three years, according to a report anti-graft watchdog Transparency International published on Tuesday.
A poll of 6,000 people from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe found that 62 percent of respondents thought corruption in the region had increased over the past three years. The poll showed 20 percent said corruption levels were unchanged and 19 percent said it had decreased.
Across all six countries, the police were the most likely service provider to demand a bribe, the report said.
“Governments must wake up to the fact that people will not tolerate corruption anymore and start reforming weak institutions, (in) particular the police.” Chantal Uwimana, regional director for Africa and the Middle East at Transparency International, said in a statement. “People have a right to feel that they are protected by the police and not harassed.”
More than half of the poll’s respondents said that they had paid a bribe to a public service provider in the last 12 months, with those from Mozambique reporting the highest incidence of bribery at 69 percent and Zambia the lowest at 42 percent.
While 42 percent of respondents said that their government had been ineffective in fighting corruption, 41 percent of those polled cited the government as the institution that they trusted most to fight graft. Non-governmental organisations came in second place with 16 percent while the media, international organisations and “nobody” all tied for third place with 12 percent each.
(Editing by Rebekah Curtis)
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