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Bribes becoming more expensive

 

Sticking to the traffic rules is cheaper than to pay a bribe.

Apart from the fact that it is morally wrong to pay a bribe, and the fact that it is an offence that is destructive to the economy, bribes are expensive.

According to a survey by the Ethics Institute of South Africa, the going rate for a bribe averages R2 200. The research was conducted in Massmart stores across five of South Africa’s provinces (Kwazulu-Natal, Gauteng, Free State, Western Cape and Limpopo), with a total of 4 553 respondents participating in a questionnaire. The study revealed that getting out of a traffic fine and paying to land a job are among the main reasons that South Africans will pay a bribe.

This is the second year that the study was conducted, and last year Limpopo residents came out tops as more likely to pay a bribe than any other South African (48%). For the current year, the Ethics Institute opted to rather focus on, among other things, how the different income groups experience bribery than to see which province comes out at the top.

The most frequently mentioned bribe amount was between R50 and R100, while the median bribe amount was R700. The average bribe amount was R2 201.

According to the CEO of the institute, Prof Deon Rossouw, the survey respondents were typically from a wide socio-economic range, which made it easier to focus on the difference between the experience of bribery of South Africans in higher- versus lower-income groups. “We found that South Africans with a lower income find it significantly more difficult to get through everyday life without paying a bribe, particularly with respect to bribes to secure jobs,” said Rossouw.

A total of 18% of the survey’s respondents paid to secure a job. The other reasons included avoiding traffic offences (36%), obtaining a driver’s licence (15%), getting a tender (7%), getting a police or criminal charges dropped (6%), bribing a Home Affairs official (4%), education or qualification bribes (3%), housing and land development bribes (3%), to receive unauthorised discounts from business (7%) and securing social grants (2%).

"There is a certain injustice in the fact that those who have the fewest resources are most vulnerable to being targeted. It is a reflection of the desperation of many in our society and an uncomfortable reminder that the adage 'bread first‚ morals later' might hold true,” remarked Rossouw on these figures.

An interesting fact that respondents revealed is that people will not only try to bribe their way into a job in the government sector, but also the private sector. The respondents indicated that if there was a likelihood of being asked for bribes for jobs, that 55% were in the public sector and 45% in the private sector.

On a positive note, Rossouw remarked that a total of 49% of the respondents had never been asked for a bribe themselves. “We also found that of those people who have been asked, more than half have said no at some point and the majority will do so again in the future. These findings challenge the view that bribery has been normalised in South Africa and that 'everybody does it',” said Rossouw. The study also showed that last year, bribe amounts in the R5 001 to R10 000 category were significantly more.

News - Date: 03 December 2016

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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.

Email: [email protected]

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