Julius Malema's relentless efforts to hold President Jacob Zuma accountable could be one of the reasons that have led to the EFF commander-in-chief shooting up as the country's most committed corruption-busting leader.

This was revealed by the Citizens' Bribery Survey, which was conducted by The Ethics Institute, which interviewed 4962 respondents in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, Limpopo and Free State, with an aim of understanding how ordinary South Africans perceive and experience bribery in their daily lives and the socioeconomic factors that influence bribery.

According to The Ethics Institute's communications and membership manager Grace Garland, the survey, commissioned by retail group MassMart, the respondents mentioned 500 leaders as committed to combating corruption.

Malema and DA leader Mmusi Maimane achieved 18% and 17% respectively, while other leaders received scores below 10%.

Though Garland said the respondents didn't divulge why they viewed Malema as the most committed corruption-busting leader, he has been a thorn on Zuma's side in parliament.

EFF successfully hauled Zuma, whose family members are implicated in state capture allegations by the Guptas, to the Constitutional Court over the debacle relating to the construction of his homestead in Nkandla, which cost taxpayers millions of rands.

The research also showed that the tough economic times have impacted on corruption, with an average bribe amounting to is R1550, down by R650 from 2016, while the average bribe amount for a tender is R82282.

"The survey results show that 71% of respondents would change their vote if the political party they support was enabling corruption.

"Respondents also perceive the DA as the party that is most committed to combating corruption (45%), followed by the EFF (28%) and the ANC (19%)," said Professor Deon Rossouw, the chief executive of The Ethics Institute.

"In our work with individuals and organisations in recent years, we have noticed an increasingly prominent narrative about leaders' impact on the ethical environment."

He added that the top five most common types of bribes are to avoid traffic offences (39%); to obtain a driver's licence (18%); to secure a job (14%); to receive a public service (8%); and to avoid police or criminal charges (7%).