South Africa Knocks Nigeria Off Its Perch As “Most Corrupt” African Country

South Africa is now believed to be
the most corrupt country on the
continent, according to a new
survey.
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
trainsand 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.