By Oliver Chisenga
AFROBAROMETER, a research network, says among elected leaders the presidency under Edgar Lungu was perceived to be the most corrupt.
The Afrobarometer team in Zambia, led by the Institute of Economic and Social Research (INESOR), a research wing of the University of Zambia, interviewed a nationally representative, random, stratified probability sample of 1,200 Zambian adults in November- December 2020.
A sample of this size yields country-level results with a margin of error of +/-3 percentage points at a 95 per cent confidence level.
Previous surveys were conducted in Zambia in
1999, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2014, and 2017.
According to their latest report on the 2020 survey done between November and December, the Pan-African think tank noted that perceptions on the levels of corruption under PF had widely increased from 18 per cent in 2013 to 40 per cent in 2020.
The report says perceptions of corruption among members of parliament and councillors which declined between surveys in 2005 and 2013 have been rising since.
“Among elected leaders, the presidency showed the largest increase in perceptions of widespread corruption, climbing from 18 per cent of respondents in 2013 to 40 per cent in 2020 (Figure 6). Perceptions that most or all MPs and local government councillors are corrupt declined between surveys in 2005 and 2013 but have been rising since, returning to 2005 levels,” the report reads. “Likewise, perceptions of widespread corruption among the police decreased from 70 per cent in 2005 to 46 per cent in 2013 but have been climbing again since then. Perceptions of corruption among judges and magistrates follow a similar pattern, though at a considerably lower level.”
Among the perpetrators of corruption, the Zambia Police Service tops the list at 54 per cent followed by the presidency at 40 per cent.
The third most corrupt officials are the councillors at 36 per cent followed by members of parliament with the same percentage, while civil servants are in fifth position at 29 per cent.
In sixth position are the judges and magistrates also at 29 per cent and followed by Zambia Revenue Authority officials at 25 per cent.
Closing the list are religious and traditional leaders at 13 per cent each.
And the report indicates that Zambians’ assessment of how well the government handles the fight against corruption had shifted significantly over time and reached their worst level in 2020.
The report says only 15 per cent said the government was performing ‘fairly well’ or ‘very well’ in its anti-corruption efforts; less than half the approval level in 2014 and standing at 33 per cent.
Meanwhile, the report states that a share of Zambians said the government handling of corruption badly grew to 79 per cent.
“Assessments of the government’s anti-corruption efforts were almost identical across urban and rural areas and genders. Citizens with post-secondary education (85 per cent) were more likely to see the government as failing in the fight against corruption in government than were those with less schooling (76-79 per cent),” the report reads further. “As of late 2020, seven in 10 Zambians (71 per cent) said the level of corruption in the country increased during the year preceding the survey, up from 55 per cent in 2014. Eight in 10 citizens (79 per cent) said the government was handling the fight against corruption ‘fairly badly’ or ‘very badly’ – a significant increase from 66 per cent recorded in 2014.”