Gender Experiences and Perceptions of Corruption in the Road Traffic Police and Zambia Revenue Authority in Lusaka's Central Business District: Cairo Road
Date
2011-07-26
Authors
N'gandu, Jacqueline
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Abstract
The objectives of the study were to investigate the perceptions and experiences of corruption among men and women who trade in Lusaka's Central Business District. The other objective was to investigate whether men were more corrupt than women. The study was undertaken between May and August 2007. The data were collected using both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection from primary sources. Primary data was collected using questionnaires and interviews. The samples were selected using purposeful sampling and convenient sampling method for questionnaire and interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS while qualitative data were analyzed thematically.
The results for the study revealed that both women and men know what corruption
is and that they demonstrated their knowledge of corruption through defining,
describing and narrating incidences of corruption they either witnessed or heard
about. Respondents also perceived corruption to be ranging from severe to very
severe in Lusaka.The study also established that men have a slightly higher inclination to bribery than women. On the experiences of corruption men came out to have had more
encounters of demands/offers of bribery to public officials than women. Unlike women, men showed signs of corrupt practices when justifying or giving reasons as to why they give out bribes to public officers. Men came out to be more tolerant of corruption than women; and most of them said that they paid out bribes to public officers to avoid the law. More men than women also said that they voluntarily pay bribes to public officers. The study also showed that while there is high knowledge of the prevalence of
corruption among respondents (either by the individuals themselves involved or
knowledge of other people involved), their reportage of cases of corruption is still
very low. Only a small percentage of respondents to the tune of 5.1 percent males
and 2.8 percent females reported cases of corruption that involved them or where
they witnessed or heard.The study revealed that public officers initiated most of the exchange of bribes that respondents either witnessed or heard about and which they narrated. Public officials mainly directly solicit for bribes from members of the general public in order for them to provide services which ordinarily should have been provided for,for free.The study re-affirmed the general public perception that ZRTPD was among the most corrupt public service providing institutions. On the contrary to the general public perception the findings of the study showed that ZRA was not as corrupt as ZPRTD. The findings of the study therefore called for education and sensitization of
women and men on corruption issues. Also that women and men should be encouraged to report cases of corruption and that there should be legislation to protect whistle blowers.
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Keywords
Road Traffic Police-Zambia , Zambia Revenue Authority