Zambia Drowning in Bribes: 2024 ZBPI Exposes Alarming Corruption Surge
Zambia Drowning in Bribes: 2024 ZBPI Exposes Alarming Corruption Surge
Zambia is grappling with a deepening corruption crisis, with bribery now firmly entrenched in public service delivery, according to the just-released 2024 Zambia Bribe Payers Index (ZBPI).
The damning report by Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) paints a grim picture of a nation where corruption has become a routine transaction, undermining governance, public trust, and basic service delivery.
The survey reveals that the Aggregate Bribery Index has surged from 10.1% in 2022 to a staggering 15.3% in 2024, signaling that Zambians today face an even higher probability of being forced to pay bribes to access public services. Alarmingly, the Service-Seeking Interaction Index which tracks bribery during interactions with service providers has climbed to 21.7%.
“This is not just a statistic, this is theft from the poor and vulnerable,” said Maurice Nyambe, Executive Director of TIZ, during the launch of the report. “Public officers are shamelessly monetizing basic services, and the government’s failure to decisively confront this problem is evident.”
The report lays bare the rot across Zambia’s public institutions:
The Zambia Police, once again, tops the list as the most corrupt institution, with a jaw-dropping 91.2% bribery prevalence in traffic enforcement.
The Road Transport and Safety Agency (RTSA) recorded 100% bribery prevalence in the licensing of public service vehicles.
The Department of Immigration and public health services also registered alarming bribery rates of 90.9% and 70.5% respectively.
Even the flagship Constituency Development Fund (CDF), which the government touts as a decentralization success, is marred by political interference, bribery, and nepotism.
The report reveals that only 22.6% of citizens participated in identifying community projects, with rural areas carrying the burden of exclusion and manipulation.
TIZ did not mince words: “CDF is becoming a corruption buffet for political elites and their cronies while the intended beneficiaries the ordinary Zambians are systematically sidelined,” Nyambe stated.
While 86.6% of Zambians are aware of the CDF, knowledge about its implementation is limited, leaving communities vulnerable to abuse. Worse still, 10.7% of applicants directly reported paying bribes to access CDF benefits, while nepotism and political favoritism dominated the beneficiary selection process.
The report also exposes a systemic failure to report corruption, with only 1.7% of victims reporting bribe solicitations despite 59.7% knowing about existing reporting channels. Shockingly, awareness of the Online Anonymous Whistleblower System (OAWS) remains pathetically low at 11.8%, leaving citizens hopeless and resigned.
“This low reporting is a direct reflection of the culture of impunity. Citizens know that reporting is often a waste of time because corrupt officials rarely face consequences,” Nyambe declared.
Adding salt to the wound, the report notes that while the Governance Index has inched up to 0.59, indicators of accountability and corruption control have actually worsened.
Transparency International Zambia has called for urgent and ruthless reforms, including the prosecution of public officers implicated in bribery, mandatory asset declarations, and radical transparency in the management of public funds, especially CDF.
“This is no longer business as usual,” Nyambe warned. “Corruption is robbing citizens of basic rights, entrenching poverty, and eroding democracy. If government does not act decisively, Zambia risks normalizing kleptocracy.”
Despite repeated government assurances, the ZBPI suggests that anti-corruption efforts are failing or worse, being deliberately weakened.
March 28, 2025
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