Corruption On The Rise
According to Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perception Index, corruption appears to be worsening in Zambia as the country recorded a further drop in its score in 2019.
The drop of a point in the 2019 Index saw Zambia move from 35 to 34, ranking 113 out of the 180 countries included in the measure.
The drop follows a dismal performance in 2018 when Zambia dropped nine places, moving to 105th, after its score fell from 37 to 35 points out of 100. It was the first time Zambia had dropped by two points and nine places in one year.
Zambia has been on a downward trend since 2016. Commenting on the 2019 figure TIZ President Reuben Lifuka stated, “in this election period, between now and the 2021 elections, we anticipate that corruption will even become worse as various players jostle for positions.”
In response Lifuka called for a strategy and a new blueprint for fighting corruption.
Meanwhile, Chief Government Spokesperson Dora Siliya has advised Zambians to get their statistics from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) rather than foreigners. Transparency International is an internationally recognised and well-respected organisation.
The ACC has published its own research on corruption, including the Zambia Bribe Payers Index Survey Report of 2019, which it published alongside Transparency International’s Zambia chapter. The 2019 report identified the Zambia Police Service as being the most corrupt public sector institution in the survey and pointed to an overall increase of 0.9% between 2017 and 2019. According to the findings the probability of paying a bribe sought or inducement of any kind to a public officer when seeking a public service is 10.9%.
The introduction to the report reads as follows: "Comparison of the Zambia Briber Payers Index (ZBPI) to Transparency International’s Corruption
Perceptions Index (CPI) overeach Index’s respective reporting years also shows minimal differences
in the trajectory of the country’s corruption problem, as both indices show a consistent increase in the problem of corruption.”
Institutions where higher probabilities of paying a bribe were recorded include Zambia Police Service, excluding Traffic section (59.5%) and Traffic section (40.7%), Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) (38.7%), Local Authorities, (22.9%), and Ministries for Education, (21.1) %.
