Ethiopian Airlines | Incompetent and illiterate ground staff at Cotonou Airport
Back to Forum- This topic has 21 replies, 11 voices, and was last updated 25 Sep 2022
at 04:21 by FDOS.
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LuganoPirateParticipantAs I said, a little lubrication can help a lot 😉
But what has changed is the 2010 UK Bribery Act. Under that legislation, a UK citizen can be guilty of an offence in any country.
Not sure how this applies to non-UK citizens or businesses, but does a good tip to the Concierge of a hotel for arranging tickets to a hard to get match also count as bribery?
Then again, as I’m sure many Africa hands know, crossing land borders can be a nightmare and take upwards of 3 hours, but a small “gift” can streamline the process and get you through in 10 minutes. Morally speaking it’s probably wrong, but is it more wrong than paying for a VIP service at an airport for example?1 user thanked author for this post.
23 Sep 2022
at 15:57
FDOSParticipantI appreciate that being denied boarding is frustrating but I am not sure what calling the agent “illiterate” adds to the tale of woe, especially as it is almost certainly untrue, given that they were working as a check in agent.
If the agent could not read the visa, what term would you find appropriate? It seems the visa was valid and the agent could not work that out, would incompetent be a fairer label?
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24 Sep 2022
at 19:13
FDOSParticipantThis reply has been reported for inappropriate content.
When one is travelling it is surely one’s duty to go with the flow, cause as little disruption as one can and adopt where possible local customs and practices thus any talk of ‘bribery’ particularly in a African context is surely misplaced ?
How about a bit of female genital mutilation, then? 😉
24 Sep 2022
at 19:17
cwoodwardParticipantFDOS Normally I am good for a spirited debate on anything much even tongue in cheek but that’s a subject on which I would prefer not to comment in jest.
However we as a family do support a charity who works to stamp out this abhorrent practise.However a little bribery makes the world go round and even faster in Africa !
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25 Sep 2022
at 01:17
FDOSParticipantcwoodward – my comment wasn’t meant to be in jest and I applaud your efforts to stamp out this abhorrent practice.
I was merely suggesting that one has to think carefully before stepping over a line; Having worked with a group of people from the Middle East last week, we had a long discussion about when a tip is a tip and when it is a bribe. It is easy to slide down a slippery slope.
FWIW, I would think that it would be unlikely that an individual would be prosecuted under the bribery act in the UK for tipping during travel, it would have to be blatant and large scale to attract the authority’s interest.
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25 Sep 2022
at 04:21 -
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