Bribery in South Africa

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Other parts of Africa are notorious for Police and other Government Officials accepting bribes, but I forget that sometimes South Africa, for all it’s first-world advances, is just as susceptible. Take for instance what happened to us last week.

Our driver was driving us home from work and going about 120 km/hr on the highway. I believe the speed limit was 120 km/hr, but I can’t be entirely sure. I wasn’t paying that close of attention. Off in the distance was a speed trap.

What is a South African Speed Trap?

Speeders are approached differently in South Africa than in the United States. There’s usually a collection of officers on the side of the road. One of them manages the radar gun and camera while the other officers (often 2-3) run out into the road to flag down the offender to pull over. There’s no chase down the highway. No lump in your throat as you wonder if those flashing lights behind you are for you or the Maserati in front of you. You know immediately that the police are targeting you.

Our driver was asked to join the officer at his car on the side of the road. He was told that he was going 120 in a 60 zone. (Whether or not this is true I can’t say for sure.) How much was the speeding ticket? The fine for this offense was ZAR 1,005.00 (about $137.67). The officer told my driver that he could give him the speeding ticket or he (our driver), could “make a plan”.

Make a Plan

“Make a plan” is a South African expression that means “to figure something out”. It’s used all the time. So my driver ran back to the car, grabbed some cash, stuffed it in his identity card holder and returned to the officer. In the blink of an eye he returned with no ticket and was only ZAR 30.00 poorer (about $4.11).

That’s right, he got himself out of paying a $137 ticket by paying the officer $4.00!!! Part of me wants to bring this custom back to the United States, but I quickly wake up from the dream and remember how bad bribery is.

This story isn’t unique. I’ve been asked to bribe the traffic police before in South Africa. A few years back my driver was pulled over for speeding and the officer flat out asked for money. When my driver had none (and asked me if I had any – which I didn’t), the officer merely said in a joking matter that he was kidding and only wanted to get some “Cold Drinks” (a South African term for soda, beer, juice, etc.), and wasn’t asking for a bribe. My driver was let go.

Bribery is Illegal

Bribery is illegal. It’s as simple as that. You can’t offer a bribe, and you can’t accept a bribe. How can you have an effective police force if they can be bribed?

So why does bribery happen? For the same reason many people would think, the police see themselves as underpaid and it’s tough to get caught. Wouldn’t you rather pay $4 instead of $137?

So to be clear, adventureswithben.com doesn’t condone bribery, and doesn’t bribe – and I don’t take any responsibility if you bribe a government official. Today’s story was simply to point out the realities of a recent experience in South Africa.

…But Would You Offer a Bribe?

But still, I’d like to know…would you accept the $137.00 ticket and take the moral road, or would you save yourself $133.00 and bribe the officer with 4 bucks? Share by commenting below.

And if you become a fan of mine on Facebook I’ll give you $4.00. Click here to do it. (Okay I won’t really give you $4.00. Bribery is wrong, remember?)

I’ll see you out there…!

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