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Majority of Namibians say corruption is rising – survey

Perceptions of corruption higher among the poor
A majority of Namibians say government is doing a poor job of fighting graft and that ordinary people risk retaliation if they speak out.
Kristien Kruger
A large majority of Namibians believe that at least some representatives and officials in government, civil society and businesses are involved in corruption, a new Afrobarometer survey on citizens' perceptions of corruption indicates.

Most citizens also say government does a poor job of combatting corruption and that ordinary people risk retaliation if they speak out.

“About three-quarters (76%) of citizens say the government is doing a bad job of fighting corruption in government, the highest level of disapproval recorded in two decades of Afrobarometer surveys,” the survey found.

The survey also found that two-thirds of Namibians believe that corruption in the country is worsening.

Among participants who interacted with key public services in the past 12 months, about four out of 10 reported difficulty in accessing the services they needed, while more than one in 10 said they had to pay bribes.

Views on corruption

Participants were asked whether they believed the level of corruption in the country had increased, decreased or remained the same.

"About two-thirds (65%) of Namibians say corruption in the country increased 'somewhat' or 'a lot' during the year preceding the survey, a 13-percentage-point drop since 2017," the report states.

In 2014, the survey showed that 63% of people believed corruption had increased, while 18% believed it had decreased. The percentage of people who thought it remained the same was also 18%.

In 2017, the percentage of people who believed corruption had increased reached a record high of 78%. It decreased to 73% in 2019 and rose to 75% in 2021.

Experience with poverty

Afrobarometer further found that perceptions of increasing corruption rise dramatically among respondents who live in poverty.

"From 56% among respondents experiencing no or low-lived poverty to 72%–73% among those experiencing moderate or high-lived poverty," the report states.

In 2024, a majority (about 62%) of Namibians said they feel they may risk retaliation or other negative consequences if they report corruption.

This percentage was the same as in 2014.

However, it increased to 67% in 2019 and was at 63% in 2021.

“Since 2017, more than six in 10 Namibians consistently report that ordinary people risk retaliation or other negative consequences if they report corruption,” the survey found.

Favours from the police

About nine out of 10 citizens (91%) believe that 'some' (52%), 'most' (31%), or 'all' (8%) police officers are involved in corruption, the survey found.

Participants were also asked during the survey if they had requested police assistance or help during the past 12 months.

If they answered yes, they were asked if it was 'difficult' or 'easy' to get the help they requested.

According to the results, 44% said it was difficult for them to get the help they requested, and 18% said they had to pay bribes to receive help.

Participants were also asked if they had ever paid bribes, given gifts or done favours for a police officer to get the help or assistance they needed.

About 3% of participants said they regularly bribe police officers, while 9% said they had done it 'a few times'.

The percentage of people who said they had done it once or twice was 15%.A majority (74%) said they had never bribed a police officer.

The Afrobarometer team in Namibia, led by Survey Warehouse, interviewed a nationally representative sample of 1 200 adult Namibians in March this year. Previous surveys were conducted in Namibia in 1999, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2019 and 2021.

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-23

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