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There's still some money left for bribes

Date: 10 December 2017 By: Isabel Venter

Even though times are tough, people still have money left to pay for bribes. 

According to the South African Citizens’ Bribery Survey for 2017 there seems to be an upward trend in the number of bribes solicited and the number of bribes paid. The report, however, did find that the average amount paid for a bribe in South Africa has declined from R2 200 in 2016 to R1 550 in 2017 (and still down from R2 005 in 2015).

This survey was released last week by the Ethics Institute in association with Massmart. The aim of the survey is to better understand the bribery challenges that ordinary South Africans face daily, their beliefs about bribery, and the socio-economic factors that influence bribery. This was the third consecutive year that the survey was conducted.

The survey asked 4 962 participants, of which 10% hailed from Limpopo, across five provinces (Gauteng, Kwazulu-Natal, Western Cape and Free State) questions about their perceptions and impressions regarding bribery.

Of these, 37% respondents said that they know of someone who had been asked for a bribe in the past year, while 35% said no to paying a bribe. Most claimed that it was against their “moral or religious” principles.

Most bribes that were paid, the study found, were related to road matters. “This implies that many fatal accidents should be preventable if we could do something about these bribes,” concluded the survey.

But what happens when bribery stands in the way of justice?

A new entry to the top five reasons people gave for paying a bribe was to avoid criminal charges. “Together with bribes for bypassing traffic laws, this amounts to 45% of all bribes. In a country where crime rates are as high as they are in South Africa, the fact that you can pay a bribe to avoid justice is of major concern. The fact that this is becoming normalised is catastrophic,” said the survey.

Most bribes were paid for traffic offences (39%), to get a driver’s licence (18%), to secure a job (14%), to receive public services (8%) and the newest entry - to avoid criminal charges (7%).

The cheapest bribe paid was for traffic offences, at an average of R205. In the report, the average bribe amount for 2017 was recorded at R1 548. Compared to 2016, which was at an average of R2 201, this is low and is even below 2015’s average, which was R2 005.

All other bribe types had averages ranging from R999 to R6 480. The survey’s data also indicated that bribes paid to get jobs may sometimes have recurring amounts, with people expected to pay a monthly portion of their salary that they receive.

On a positive note, the study remarked that all is not lost. About half of South Africans believe that it is possible to get through everyday life without paying bribes. “While it appears that we are at a tipping point, there are still a significant number of committed people who choose not to pay bribes,” concluded the survey.

 
 
 

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Isabel Venter

Isabel joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in 2009 as a reporter. She holds a BA Degree in Communication Sciences from the University of South Africa. Her beat is mainly crime and court reporting.

 
 

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