Internal strategies and mechanisms for combating corruption during the Covid-19 pandemic in Zambia: A linguistic turn

Abstract

This article analyses internal strategies and mechanisms in Zambia that have triggered corruption challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic. In doing so, it focuses on a localised practice known as the bineyi phenomenon and adopts John Law’s actor network theory (ANT) as an analytical prism. Bineyi is a colloquial word in Nyanja which refers to favours in exchange for funds from individuals and government officials. Simply, Bineyi entails a system of business social networking in which influential businesspeople seek to gain favours.