via Corruption worsens in Zim – NewsDay Zimbabwe June 2, 2015 by Veneranda Langa
A RECENT survey commissioned by Transparency International Zimbabwe (TIZ) has revealed that the majority of the population believes the level of corruption has increased significantly over the past two years as the economy continues to shrink.
Presenting the survey results in Bulawayo last Friday during a function which coincided with the launch of four publications on corruption, TIZ researcher Farai Mutondoro said the increase in graft levels was worrisome.
According to the survey, 68,5% of respondents felt government was ineffective in fighting corruption.
“While senior government officials, the President included, have made various efforts to castigate acts of corruption, such actions rarely result in actual prosecution in a court of law,” he said.
The media was singled out as a powerful force in fighting corruption with 17% of respondents said to have indicated they would prefer to report corruption to the media as their role in fighting corruption had become pivotal and instrumental in exposing grand political corruption cases.
Bribes were said to be the most common form of corruption with 77,4% of Zimbabweans said to have indicated they had been asked to pay a bribe in the past two years.
The institutions that people were said to have listed as very corrupt and asking for bribes for services rendered were the police topping the list, followed by city councils and the education sector, Vehicle Inspection Department (VID), Registrar-General’s Office, health institutions and the Judiciary.
“Corruption is more prevalent in urban councils especially when it comes to allocation of residential stands and the aspect of one stand being sold to more than one person. Most respondents indicated they had experienced corruption when dealing with VID with commuter omnibus drivers interviewed narrating some had been driving for years without licences.
It emerged that for one to get a class four driver’s licence they need to pay at least a $250 bribe to the examination officer,” stated the report.
In the education sector, lecturers and teachers were said to be selling examination papers to students in return for money or sex.
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