The metro police officer leans into your window: Do you pay a quick bribe and drive off, or take your punishment on the chin?
Lead SA, a long-term project by Primedia and the Independent News Group, is hoping to stop the metro police corruption.
The challenge was put out by listeners of Primedia’s radio stations to enter a poll and say whether they had bribed a Metro police officer and in which area it took place.
Lead SA’s spokesperson and founder Yusuf Abramjee told the M&G on Thursday the process would not stop there.
“The whole point is to ascertain which Metro police department is most corrupt. We will then tackle the problem with police management. Monday will be results day.”
Flood of responses
He said South Africans had responded well to the request and didn’t seem shy.
“Within the first five hours we had 1 000 responses, and it keeps climbing every hour,” Abramjee said.
The poll has also been designed so that respondents can only vote once.
Johannesburg Metro spokesperson Inspector Edna Mamonyane told the M&G on Thursday said the poll would help to root out corruption.
“Unfortunately we have corrupt elements. But as people, we should work with our consciences,” she said.
“Once these results are brought to our attention we will then intensify internal affairs. Senior officials and management will have to put measures in place to check up on our own.”
When asked why bribery was so easy, she said that from a driver’s perspective it was cheaper than to pay the fine.
“But some officers see it as an opportunity for quick money. It’s a quick R100 from R7 000 or R10 000 a month,” she said.
Mamonyane denied however that bribery was because of the new road traffic Aarto demerit system. The implementation was delayed due to problems in the legislative process. There was also much protesting from minibus taxi drivers.
“Corruption has been around for a long time, way before Aarto became a possibility,” she said.
“Our conscience should be our guardian angels.”
Results are due to be released over Primedia radio stations and websites, and would be published in the Star, Pretoria News, Daily News and Cape Argus on Monday.