Zambia: Overview of corruption and anti-corruption

U4 Helpdesk Answer

Zambia: Overview of corruption and anti-corruption

With a focus on the justice sector, grievance mechanisms in the public sector, and gender and corruption

Zambia faces significant corruption challenges; public procurement and the justice sector are especially affected. A progressively authoritarian regime has resulted in increasing political violence against the opposition and government critics. With the onset of COVID-19, there are fears that, in a bid for survival, the ruling party may find ways of personal enrichment at the expense of public welfare. Women face significant barriers to political participation, and their experiences with corruption are notably different in some/ a number of cases. The Office of the Public Protector has emerged as an ombudsman authority in recent years.

11 November 2020

Download PDF

Main points

Corruption remains a problem in the Zambian context, with government officials frequently engaging in corrupt acts with impunity.
Political corruption and undue influence stand out as major forms of corruption.
The judiciary is influenced by the executive, and its reputation is marred by allegations of corruption.
Applying a gender dimension to experiences of bribery show that, while women are less frequently asked than men to pay bribes, they are more likely to raise their voices against it. Women are also more affected than men when it comes to the growing phenomenon of "sextortion" where sex is used as an informal currency in exchange for favours and economic opportunities.
The Office of the Public Protector acts as a centralised grievance mechanism for all citizens.

By

Kaunain RahmanResearch Coordinator

Reviewed by

Sofie Arjon SchüttePrincipal Adviser

Jorum DuriResearch Coordinator

Maurice Knyambe

In collaboration with

Transparency International

Topics

Anti-corruption basics

Cite this publication

Rahman, K. (2020) Zambia: Overview of corruption and anti-corruption. With a focus on the justice sector, grievance mechanisms in the public sector, and gender and corruption. Bergen: U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre, Chr. Michelsen Institute (U4 Helpdesk Answer 2020:26)

Download PDF

About the author

Kaunain Rahman

Kaunain is the business integrity specialist at Transparency International (TI), driving integrity in business as part of TI’s strategy. She strengthens business capacity for collective action, fosters integrity in value chains, and advocates for better regulatory frameworks. Her projects include Integrity Pacts and the Business Integrity Country Agenda, focusing on transparent procurement and national business integrity. Kaunain also leads TI’s efforts in addressing corruption through private sector sustainability reporting.

Disclaimer

All views in this text are the author(s)’, and may differ from the U4 partner agencies’ policies.

This work is licenced under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Keywords

Zambia, judiciary, funding mechanisms, gender

U4 Helpdesk Answer