Some public service officials are offered gifts by service providers before and after tenders are awarded, said the Public Service Commission on Friday.

The PSC said this information arose from survey data contained in a report it released on Friday into how gift-giving was managed in the public service.

The PSC said about two thirds of public servants questioned were not in favour of those in their position receiving gifts before, after or while a contract was being considered.

"Regardless, during the interviews it came to light that it is an open secret in some departments that service providers offer gifts before and after tenders are being awarded," said the PSC.

No gift policy

The PSC said their research showed that 65 percent of departments interviewed did not have a gift policy or a gift register.

In survey data, it emerged that just under half of the public servants, 44 percent, believed that in principle people in their position should be allowed to receive gifts.

Just over a third, 35 percent, believed public servants should not receive gifts.

Most respondents said that overseas and weekend trips and sponsorships and bursaries for family members were considered the gifts that posed the greatest threat in terms of opening up officials to corrupt practices.

Fifty nine percent of respondents said a television set could swing officials over to the dark side, while 41 percent said liquor might do the job.

Least 'tempting' gifts were pens, stationary, calendars, diaries and ties.

Most public servants, 58 percent, suggested that a monetary limit be put on gifts, but the actual amounts proposed varied widely from R10 to R5000.

Incorporate cultural practices

The PSC said public servants also wanted gift policies to incorporate Afro-centric and other cultural practices.

Sixty percent of the public servants surveyed said they would accept a gift that was offered to them if it was of a cultural nature.

Over two thirds of public servants believed there should be a legal prescript compelling them to report gifts accepted by other officials, and just under half wanted all gifts to be reported to an independent body.

A third of public servants believed gifts always compromised objectivity, integrity and independence.

The PSC said that in its research it became clear that "the receiving and accepting of gifts by public servants is a common occurrence and that not all gifts received are disclosed".

"Public servants are the instruments through which the various mandates of government are executed...their actions must never be suspect.

"The unfortunate reality is that public servants are human beings with weaknesses that may be exploited."

Contradictions and inconsistencies

The PSC said its research showed that there were contradictions, inconsistencies and ambiguities in current legislation when it came to the acceptance of gifts in the public service.

"The current legal framework is therefore clearly in need of amendment."

Legislation around gift-giving in the public service should create a criminal sanction against this practice.

The commission also said creating exceptions to gift giving around its cultural aspects would be difficult to define, police, prove or disprove.

"Such exceptions may create further confusion, lead to unequal treatment before the law and may even create opportunities for unscrupulous public servants and others to offer and accept gifts with impunity.

"However, it is acknowledged that most traditional or cultural gifts are not translatable into monetary value as they are regarded as symbolic."

The PSC said if public servants received a gift based on a cultural tradition it should be treated and managed with cultural sensitivity but not in a way that compromised accountability and transparency.

The commission said public service departments should implement an electronic system for declaring gifts and appoint an Ethics Officer who would administer and oversee a gift policy.

"A public servant seeking approval to accept and retain a gift or other benefit or gratification, completes a prescribed form electronically and submits it to the Ethics Officer, who after consideration, submits it directly into a database administered by the PSC," recommended the commission.