Africa-Press – South-Africa. A survey conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council has found that 62% of South Africans believe that almost all politicians are involved in corruption.
The survey also showed that 49% experienced government officials asking them or a family friend for a bribe or a favour in return for a service.
The HSRC conducted this data-capturing initiative in its social attitudes survey series. The surveys were completed in 2021, 2022 and mid-2023.
The data collected involved online and in-person interviews of 2 837 and 3 105 people.
The surveys were conducted based on a series linked to perceptions of corruption in the country amid the post-publication of the state capture report.
Researchers Ben Roberts and Ngqapheli Mchunu presented the findings at the HSRC event on Thursday in Pretoria, marking a year since the final state capture report was presented to President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Another question asked of respondents was about cadre deployment, a topic of much interest to the Zondo Commission.
The commission, headed by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, had flagged concerns about how the ANC’s cadre deployment strategies may have influenced the corruption that plagued state-owned enterprises during the peak of state capture.
The DA is currently fighting a court battle with the ANC over the governing party’s cadre deployment meeting minutes.
The survey participants were asked whether they believed that cadre deployment directly influenced the probability of corruption.
The survey found:
The survey also gauged the impact of the state capture reports on South Africans.
The outcomes showed that in 2022, 37% felt not enough was being done to prosecute those involved in state capture. While 27% said enough was being done, the remainder were undecided over the probability for prosecutions.
“The proportion believing that not enough is being done increased by 9% between 2021 and 2022.”
The survey was conducted ahead of the release of the state capture report.
The question on whether the commission had performed a good or bad job saw 27% agree that it had done its work effectively.
Meanwhile, 19% of those surveyed registered discontent with the commission’s work.
The remainder of respondents, 48%, were neutral or uncertain.
Mchunu said:
Mchunu said that, based on the survey outcomes, it was clear that the successful implementation of the state capture report’s recommendations was vital to maintaining faith in the justice system.
Zondo, in his address at the HSRC event, decried what he viewed as a lack of movement in applying the recommendations of the commission.
He said the possibility of state capture was very likely again because nothing had changed.
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