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SA’s average bribe rises to R2 200

Johannesburg - The average bribe amount in South Africa has risen by R195 over the last year to R2 200 in 2016, according to a local survey.

The Ethics Institute on Tuesday released the second South African Citizen’s Bribery Survey, which is sponsored by retailer Massmart-Walmart.

The survey, which was conducted in October 2016 at Massmart-Walmart stores, tapped 4 553 people represented from major urban areas in Gauteng, Limpopo, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and the Western Cape.

READ: Marked increase in bribery in SA - survey

Survey respondents said 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 get a tender (7%); and to receive unauthorised discounts from business (4%).

Participants who indicated they knew someone who had been asked for a bribe were also asked if they knew how much the value of the bribe was.

“The average bribe amount mentioned was R2 201,” said the survey.

“This is slightly up from R2 005 last year. To ensure that the overall value was not unduly influenced by outliers, the top and bottom 5% of responses were excluded from our calculations,” added the survey.

Breaking down these figures further, the researchers said the most frequently mentioned bribe amounts were R50 and R100, and the median bribe amount was R700. 


Traffic fine offences top the list of bribes in SA, according to a survey. 


Fifty-six percent of bribes were reported to be below R1 000 and 91% below R5 000, indicating that “very high bribe values were rare”.

“Last year there were significantly more bribes in the R5 001 – R10 000 category,” said the researchers.

About 1% of respondents indicated that they know of someone who had paid over R1m in bribes.

Other key findings of the survey indicate that respondents who know someone who was asked for a bribed rose 5% from 2015 to 33%; 18% of bribes were to secure employment and 51% for traffic-related offences.

The research further indicated that 43% of respondents said that those who paid bribes had no other choice, 36% said it was convenient and 8% said it wasn’t a “big deal” to bribe.

READ: Corruption erodes mining opportunities - CEO

The results also showed that 48% of respondents who earn less than R100 000 per annum thought it was difficult to navigate daily life without paying a bribe. Lower income groups are also 17% more vulnerable to paying bribes for jobs.

Only 27% of the higher income group - those who earn more than R500 000 per annum - believe it is difficult to navigate daily life without paying a bribe. Those who earn more than R500 000 also experienced 16% more tender bribery than the low income group.


Bribes in certain segments are on the rise in South Africa.


“There is a certain injustice in the fact that those who have the least resources are most vulnerable to being targeted,” said Professor Deon Rossouw, CEO of the Ethics Institute.

“It is a reflection of the desperation of many in our society and an uncomfortable reminder that the adage 'bread first, morals later' might hold true,” said Rossouw. 

In terms of the provinces surveyed, 32% of respondents in Kwazulu-Natal indicated that they knew someone who was approached for a bribe compared to 28% in Gauteng, 14% in the Free State, 14% in the Western Cape and 12% in Limpopo.

However, a large number of South Africans have rejected bribery in the last year, according to the survey.

Forty-nine percent of respondents said they believe it is possible to get through life in SA without paying a bribe. This figure is up 27% from 2015.

Another 60% of respondents said they declined to pay for bribes when asked.

What are your thoughts on the level of bribery in SA? Tell us by clicking here.

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