Fines and Facilitations

From Bloomberg.com - reporting on stricter driving laws in Kenya:

"Under the new law, any motorist found driving on the sidewalk or using gas stations as a detour faces a year in prison and/or a fine of as much 300,000 shillings. The rules also stipulate vehicle operators who drink and drive may be fined at least 500,000 shillings and/or serve a minimum of 10 years in jail. A conviction for dangerous driving causing death can lead to life imprisonment, Midiwo said.

Drivers are concerned that creating tougher penalties for traffic offenses will enable corrupt police officers to demand bigger bribes, Simon Kimutai, head of the Matatu Owners Association, said by phone from Nairobi. Most matatus are privately owned.

“We don’t have properly trained officers who can enforce the law,” he said. “The fear is mostly that corruption is going to go triple-high.”"

That last sentence was the cause of a large scale strike by Matatu drivers who fear that police will simply want larger bribes to turn a blind eye on traffic offenses. Most Matatus, which are 14 person vans that regularly accomodate 20 or more people, simply ignore traffic laws; driving on sidewalks, the wrong side of the street etc. Apparently drivers also regularly have a few beers to keep their edge and police will accept small amounts of cash to let them off with a warning.

The drivers fear that larger fines equal larger cash contributions and their fears are probably well justified. Leverage plays a huge role in the African tradition of 'facilitation'.

In Kinshasa, DRC, police regularly stop drivers and find a reason to collect a 'fine'. During a recent visit I was twice involved with this practice, which usually means a 20-30 minute discussion at the roadside, followed by payment of the 'fine'. I was warned to 'never get out of the car' and 'never hand over your license or passport'. The reason for this is simple; once the police can get you to the station, whether you follow them to retrieve your ID or are taken there in their vehicle, they have more leverage and your 'fine' will be a lot more than the $5-10 it takes to settle matters on the roadside.

In the world of household goods moving, leverage has the opposite effect. Because HHG shipments are exempt from duty, there is little leverage for the customs officials to extract more than a few dollars per stamp or signature (as many as six stamps required in DRC). So HHG shipments endure much longer delays than commercial shipments, where high duty charges can be negotiated downward, subject, of course, to a facilitation fee to customs officials.

This practice is so rampant that even the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits US companies or their agents from bribing anyone in order to get business, has a clause exempting the facilitation of minor officials in order to conduct business.

More on this subject in a later blog.

TW

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