The tenth edition of the Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) Africa has revealed that the police service is considered the most corrupt institution.

Released on African Anti-Corruption Day, the GCB report revealed that a global average of 47% of people believe that most or all police are corrupt and in South Africa, this figure rises to 49%.

Transparency International in partnership with Afrobarometer conducted the survey between the end of July and September 2018.

A recent Corruption Watch report, ‘Corruption in Uniform’, highlights the alarming levels of corruption in the policing sector in South Africa, with 19% of the respondents using police services reported having paid a bribe to the police, up from 3% recorded in 2015.

As in the 2015 edition of the GCB for Africa, the police consistently exhibit the highest bribery rate across the continent.

The GCB is the largest, most detailed survey of citizen views on corruption and bribery in Africa. According to the report, the range of corruption challenges that African citizens face is complex and multifaceted, requiring fundamental and systemic changes. 

Meanwhile, Corruption Watch explained that of the 47 000 citizens surveyed in 35 African countries, more than half believe corruption is getting worse in their country, while 59% think their government is doing badly at tackling corruption.

In South Africa, a staggering 70% believe that the government is not doing enough to tackle corruption, 45% believe local government officials are highly corrupt, 44% says government officials and members of Parliament are corrupt; and 37% believe that most or all business executives are corrupt. 

Although those South Africans surveyed generally think that NGOs and religious leaders are less corrupt, it is worth noting that 30% of South Africans surveyed were concerned about corruption in the NGO sector.

On a more positive note, 57% of South Africans surveyed believe that ordinary people can make a difference in the fight against corruption.