South Africa knocks Nigeria off its perch as “most corrupt” African country

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The latest report by Transparency International sees South Africa top the list of countries where citizens believe the problem has got worse in the last year.

Over 80% of South Africans who were interviewed thought that corruption had increased over the last year. Ghana and Nigeria are some of the other worst-affected nations.

79% of South Africans surveyed also believe that not enough is being done to curb corruption. On the continent‚ the majority of Africans (58%) say that corruption has increased over the past year.

If there is one shining light to the survey it’s that 56% of South Africans surveyed believe that ordinary people can make a difference in the fight against corruption.

The survey found that 25% of respondents in SA believe that the most effective way for ordinary citizens to combat corruption is by reporting their experiences‚ followed by a further 22% who identified the refusal to pay bribes as an effective means to fight corruption.

With 43‚143 respondents, across 28 countries surveyed, people feel the police, business executives, government officials and the courts were all perceived as corrupt, with 75 million people estimated to have paid a bribe in the past year, AFP reports.

Between JZ pouring money into his Nkandla digs, Prasa’s dodgy trains and countless of other scandals, South Africans aren’t exactly stoked about the state of affairs.

“People are outraged, they see this huge spending as part of government corruption,” David Lewis, director of Corruption Watch, a local anti-graft organisation, told AFP.

“Corruption creates and increases poverty and exclusion,” Transparency International head Jose Ugaz said in a statement.

Source: The South African