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Daily lives and corruption: Public opinion in Southern Africa
Transparency International
November 22, 2011

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Introduction

Public views on corruption are of critical importance. They offer significant insight into how corruption affects lives around the world. Transparency International believes it is crucial to present the public's perspective on corruption - for it is they who suffer its direct and indirect consequences. At the same time, Transparency International encourages the public to play an active role in stopping corruption and improving governance. To this end, this survey also probes public willingness to engage in the fight against corruption.

Between 2010 and 2011 more than 6000 people were interviewed in six Southern African countries - the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe - on their views of corruption levels in their countries and their governments' efforts to fight corruption. This report also examines the frequency of reports of bribery in different sectors and institutions, and the reasons respondents paid bribes during the last year. It also investigates public willingness to engage in the fight against corruption.

Key findings

56% of people report paying a bribe in the past 12 months. Mozambique reported the highest incidence of bribery and Zambia the lowest, with 68 per cent and 42 per cent respectively reporting having paid a bribe to one of nine service providers in the past 12 months.

62% of people feel that corruption in their country has increased in the past three years. The survey results found the highest perceived increase in corruption was in the DRC, where three out of every four people reported that they felt corruption had increased in the past three years.

The police are perceived to be the most corrupt institution across all countries. This correlates with the finding that bribes were more often paid to the police than any other institution - 49 per cent of people who had been in contact with the police reported having paid a bribe.

The government is the most trusted institution to fight corruption. Of all institutions, 41 per cent of people trust the government most to fight corruption, followed by 16 per cent who trust NGOs most. NGOs are seen to play a particularly important role in Malawi, with 32 per cent of people reporting that they trust them most to fight corruption.

80% of people can imagine themselves getting involved in the fight against corruption. In Malawi (91 per cent), Zambia (88 per cent) and Mozambique (86 per cent) most people report being willing to engage in the fight against corruption.

Public perceptions of corruption

The public were asked about their perceptions of corruption in their home country. The survey captures views on whether people feel that overall corruption levels have increased or decreased in recent years. People were also asked to rate the extent of corruption in different institutions, so that those institutions where corruption was perceived to be greatest could be identified.

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