The Rural Electrification Authority (REA) is a special-purpose vehicle that aims to increase and sustain the availability of electricity in rural areas, ensuring access to electricity for the rural population. The Authority has been using an inward-looking tool to assess internal processes and practices within the institution, as well as to evaluate the level of corruption vulnerability. As such, this Monitoring and Evaluation Assessment (MEA) tool did not provide an external view of perceptions of stakeholders who interact with REA activities. To address this gap, REA contracted Transparency International Zambia (TI-Z) to develop an institutional-based CPI measure as a tool to assess external perceptions of corruption in its operations.
The Institutional-based CPI assessment therefore sought to evaluate the level of corruption within REA by collecting Corruption Perceptions from relevant external stakeholders and to generate recommendations aimed at mitigating corruption risks and vulnerabilities across various operational areas. The assessment employed an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, which included the collection of quantitative data through a Corruption Perception Survey, preceded by the collection of qualitative data through key informant interviews, and desk-based research. This methodology enabled a deeper explanation, the identification of corruption risks, and good practices to complement the quantitative survey results.
The overall CPI score for the Rural Electrification Authority (REA) in 2024 was 90/100, with 0 representing the highest perceptions of institutional corruption and 100 representing the lowest. The CPI score of 90/100 suggests that the Authority has implemented considerable measures to mitigate the risks of corruption. However, it is essential to note that the institutional-based CPI score is not directly comparable to Zambia’s CPI score for 2024, which was 39/100, as the underlying data sources and corruption types differ. Nonetheless, the Institutional-based CPI score for REA is comparable to future CPI scores as well as other Institutional-Based CPI scores for public and private sector entities. In terms of corruption types, the highest perceptions of corruption were concerning bribery (88/100), Extortion (89/100) and Fraud (89/100), while the REA departments with the highest risk of corruption were the Procurement Unit (82/100) and the Engineering Services Department (86/100).
It was also notable that the departments with the highest corruption risks were those with the most frequent interactions with external stakeholders, such as contractors and suppliers, suggesting that corruption tends to increase with the frequency of interactions. In light of these findings, REA should establish a corruption risk register for the Procurement Unit and the Engineering Services department, based on the risks identified in this study. The Authority should also enhance capacity-building training programmes targeting staff and incorporate corruption-related elements into the training manuals, along with good practices identified in this study. Furthermore, given the technical nature of engineering, the staff from the Audit and Risk Unit should undergo technical trainings in engineering-based project management in order to better anticipate and identify corruption risks.
