The second South African Citizen’s Bribery Survey, conducted by The Ethics Institute and sponsored by Massmart, asked among other things whether respondents had ever said no to paying a bribe.  The results show that half of respondents have never been asked for a bribe, while 60% of those who have been asked have declined to pay at some point – mostly for moral or religious reasons.  

Other key findings include:
•    1 in 5 people know someone who paid a bribe in the last year;
•    Over half of bribes are for road related matters (i.e. traffic fines + drivers’ licences). Reducing these could have an impact on road deaths;
•    The poor find it more difficult to get through everyday life without paying bribes than the wealthy, and are significantly more targeted to pay bribes for employment; and
•    Bribery for employment and contracts occur almost equally in the private and public sectors.

These figures paint a picture of citizens that are familiar with the phenomenon of bribery, but the fact that so many people decline to pay bribes also show that there is hope.  
“As organisations across the country observe International Anti-corruption Day on 9 December, it is worth celebrating the ordinary heroes who choose to take a personal stand against corruption,” says Professor Deon Rossouw, CEO of The Ethics Institute. “The research findings show that South Africans do have a moral compass, and those who pay bribes are still in the minority.” 

According to survey respondents the top five reasons for resorting to bribery are to avoid traffic offences (36%); to secure a job (18%); to obtain a driver’s licence (15%); to receive unauthorised discounts from businesses (7%); and to get a tender 4%.

Professor Rossouw says “It is clear that there are those who pay bribes to exploit the system for their own benefit, but there are also vulnerable people who are exploited by unscrupulous individuals.  We found that South Africans with lower income find it significantly more difficult to get through everyday life without paying a bribe, particularly with respect to bribes to secure jobs. There is a certain injustice in the fact that those who have the least resources are most vulnerable to being targeted.”

Massmart Anti-Corruption Compliance Executive, Johann Stander says “At Massmart we are committed to doing business the right way and have invested significantly in promoting a culture of integrity within our organisation. We also believe that we should play a broader anti-corruption role in our society because bribery increases the cost of living for all of us and undermines the rule of law and the values of our democracy. It is not good for social cohesion nor is it good for business, hence our sponsorship of the South African Citizens’ Bribery Survey.”

The survey findings were based on interviews with more than 4553 South Africans from urban centres in Gauteng, Limpopo Kwazulu-Natal, Free State and the Western Cape. The objective of the survey is to gain insight into the everyday experience of ordinary South Africans in relation to their perceptions of bribery, the extent of bribery in the country as well as the socio-economic factors that influence it. Some of the questions asked included; “how frequently are people asked for bribes? What are these bribes for? How much do people pay for bribes? How willing are they to do something about bribery? What were the reasons for paying or refusing to pay a bribe?’’

About the South African Citizens’ Bribery Survey 2016
Conducted by The Ethics Institute and sponsored by Massmart, this is the first survey to examine bribery as perceived and experienced by ordinary South African citizens. It is the second year the survey is being conducted.  The survey was conducted in a wide range of Massmart stores in Kwazulu-Natal, Gauteng, Free State, Western Cape and Limpopo. The 4553 South Africans who participated in the survey come from various income levels.

​ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Cathlen Fourie, 082 222 9198, [email protected], www.atthatpoint.co.za  
 
For more information on The Ethics Institute please visit:
Website: www.tei.org
Twitter: @EthicsInst
LinkedIn: The Ethics Institute
Facebook: Ethics Institute of South Africa

The current social media storm on racism demonstrates yet again how dangerous stereotypes are, and how easily they can become self-fulfilling prophecies. To prevent these inaccurate but powerful stories from setting the national agenda, South Africans must consciously tell a different story - backed up by the facts.
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“The reaction to recent racist tweets has shown the power of stereotypes to influence the way a whole nation sees itself, spreading negativity that affects not only individuals but the national mood itself. These tweets seem to confirm stereotypes so they spread easily, but they are simply not borne out by the facts,” says Professor Deon Rossouw, CEO of the Ethics Institute of South Africa (EthicsSA). “We need to be much more critical of these stereotypes and pay more attention to the goodwill in our society.”

As an example of a stereotype related to corruption in South Africa, Professor Rossouw cites the findings in the recent survey into bribery conducted by EthicsSA and sponsored by Massmart. The survey found that while 78 percent of South Africans believe that bribery is necessary to get through everyday life, only 20 percent know somebody who has actually paid a bribe. In other words, even though the “received wisdom” is that bribery is both common and necessary, the vast majority of South Africans act differently.
“Despite that finding, it was interesting that most of the headlines reporting on the survey incorrectly focused on the stereotype—‘Most South Africans pay bribes’—while the reality is that most do not,” says Professor Rossouw. “We need to discard inaccurate stereotypes consciously, or we risk feeding them and letting them become true.”

Another example of how stereotyping masks, and can overpower, reality is evident in the racism debate currently underway, he continues. The spate of racist tweets and reactions to them can seem to confirm stereotypes that everybody is racist, thus creating the impression that reconciliation and nation-building have failed and are no longer worth pursuing. In fact, the opposite is true as the SA Reconciliation Barometer 2015 shows. Published late last year by The Institute for Justice and Reconciliation, the survey provides factual evidence that the vast majority of South Africans are committed to reconciliation and nation-building: 75.5 percent favour an inclusive South African identity, and 71 percent believe it is important to have a united South African nation.

“This is astonishing given the fact that a majority (61.4 percent) also believe that race relations have stayed the same or worsened since democracy. So yes, the challenges remain daunting and not enough progress is being made, but the reality is that most of us want the South African project to succeed. You would never guess that from the dominant narrative in social (and other) media, though it’s apparent in work places and other places where people mingle,” Professor Rossouw argues. “We must tap into this reality, and use them to create a positive frame for the important national conversations that must take place. If we do not, we risk letting the stereotypes—the dangerous and inaccurate myths—dominate our reality. We must not let that happen.”

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Cathlen Fourie, 082 222 9198, [email protected], www.atthatpoint.co.za 

For more information on EthicsSA please visit:
Website: www.ethicssa.org 
LinkedIn: Ethics Institute of South Africa
Facebook: Ethics Institute of South Africa