Paying a bribe for a work permit - will it work?
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Join Date: Nov 2005
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Paying a bribe for a work permit - will it work?
Hi everyone!
I have herd several different inputs on obtaining work permits.. It is to my understanding that it is every African nations duty to rightfully employ their own prior to employing those from countries abroad. Now, I have also been told by few that simply paying for one or even slipping a few bank notes in the first page of your passport
is another way of getting a work permit. I have never seen this off hand myself, but was curious if any of this sounds familiar. I was under the impression that in order to obtain a work permit in the first place the country in which you are applying for needs verification from the employer that infact you will be working for them,,, no?
Also, can anybody tell me what the general trends are in obtaining a work permit (difficult or easy?) are for South Africa's neighbouring countries, (Namibia, Botswana, Zambia), and also Tanzania, Kenya and Malawi, if you could????
Thanks a million
Take care for now,
-cheers
I have herd several different inputs on obtaining work permits.. It is to my understanding that it is every African nations duty to rightfully employ their own prior to employing those from countries abroad. Now, I have also been told by few that simply paying for one or even slipping a few bank notes in the first page of your passport
is another way of getting a work permit. I have never seen this off hand myself, but was curious if any of this sounds familiar. I was under the impression that in order to obtain a work permit in the first place the country in which you are applying for needs verification from the employer that infact you will be working for them,,, no?Also, can anybody tell me what the general trends are in obtaining a work permit (difficult or easy?) are for South Africa's neighbouring countries, (Namibia, Botswana, Zambia), and also Tanzania, Kenya and Malawi, if you could????
Thanks a million
Take care for now,
-cheers
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pedsims.........this is africa buddy. if you don't bribe - you get nowhere. i slipped some slimy dude a couple of bucks, and in return i got to drive a fine machine. africa is corrupt 
- if you can't live with it you should leave.
- if you can't live with it you should leave.
Join Date: Nov 2004
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Reptile is largely correct. Palm-greasing is a way of life for a lot of the third world countries.
They don't see it as corruption, they see it as the equivalent of tipping .. in many of these places, where pay is poor .. is in a currency that is often worth little more than a***paper .. and where they often don't get paid for months at a time, because the countrys finances are a shambles .. greasing their palms is seen as the only way of making up the difference ..
I have a friend who came from Mauritius, who told me that it was just par for the course, that when a traffic cop pulled you up, you handed over your licence with the equivalent of $50 inside it ..
.. and that the licence was handed back to you shortly thereafter .. minus the $50 .. and you were free to go ..
Naturally .. half the time, there had been no offence committed, anyway ..
The best technique, is to try and deal via Western companies, rather than handing over bribes initially. Never initiate bribes.
Once you're there, you'll no doubt find yourself pressured at some point, to "speed up" processing somewhere, with a little "assistance" .. when you run up against that, you'll have to make an on-the-spot decision, whether to go with the flow, or buck the trend.
Sometimes you can get around it, by finding another, less-corrupt official to carry out your request .. a lot of times, you have no choice.
Always remember, that you are held wholly responsible, too, if the s**t hits the fan.
This can also mean .. that an auto accident, that is not even your fault .. can see you thrown in jail, until "reparations" or palm-greasing, is provided to those in authority ..
They don't see it as corruption, they see it as the equivalent of tipping .. in many of these places, where pay is poor .. is in a currency that is often worth little more than a***paper .. and where they often don't get paid for months at a time, because the countrys finances are a shambles .. greasing their palms is seen as the only way of making up the difference ..
I have a friend who came from Mauritius, who told me that it was just par for the course, that when a traffic cop pulled you up, you handed over your licence with the equivalent of $50 inside it ..
.. and that the licence was handed back to you shortly thereafter .. minus the $50 .. and you were free to go ..Naturally .. half the time, there had been no offence committed, anyway ..
The best technique, is to try and deal via Western companies, rather than handing over bribes initially. Never initiate bribes.
Once you're there, you'll no doubt find yourself pressured at some point, to "speed up" processing somewhere, with a little "assistance" .. when you run up against that, you'll have to make an on-the-spot decision, whether to go with the flow, or buck the trend.
Sometimes you can get around it, by finding another, less-corrupt official to carry out your request .. a lot of times, you have no choice.
Always remember, that you are held wholly responsible, too, if the s**t hits the fan.
This can also mean .. that an auto accident, that is not even your fault .. can see you thrown in jail, until "reparations" or palm-greasing, is provided to those in authority ..
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Palm-greasing is a way of life ...
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Ok mate here is the deal. Sometimes it has to be done. Dont try to do it on your own before you know what the hell is going on. Try to get the job first. Chances are that the company that wants you would have had to pay some kind of contribution to get up and running. A lot of the time they will pay for you, bribes and all. I dont like to call them bribes, even in the UK for instance if you pay higher fees things get done quicker, so in effect what you are doing is smoothing a rough path. In the UK they call it a "premium service" at the home office, in Africa it has no official name, but you could call it a premium fee for a quicker and easier way to do things...and be happy with that.
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I know there are probably numerous cases in the West, where bribery is not uncovered .. however, I don't believe it's a way of life in the West.
I've been in business for over 40 years, and only personally experienced one attempt at bribery in Australia. I fixed him up real good, without resorting to law.
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A few many years ago the company I was working for sold us and the aircraft to a Kenyan company, result being we had to get Kenyan Lic as aircraft became Kenyan reg. In those days I only had a CPL and as a result had to do that awefull Kenya CPL 100 question exam paper. Wrote it 3 times, was told by the Kenyans I was working with if I didn't pay the examiner I would never pass the exam. I found out later one of the Captains was approached and told if he didn't pay $XXX I wouldn't pass the exam. I believe he did pay the bucks and I got the Licence. I don't believe in bribes but that is the way of africa... thankfully never been in that situation again. Personaly I wouldn't bribe because once you start you'll never get anything done until money changes hands!!
