About disclosure of gifts

In the past week, I have had the privilege of attending a workshop jointly organised by the Anti- Corruption Bureau and the Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The workshop was one among a series of meetings with private sector players aimed at re-setting a coordinating platform for the business sector’s role in the fight against corruption.

Among the issues discussed were mechanisms for enhancing ethics in companies. One interesting topic that came up in the workshop was about regulating the giving and receiving of gifts as a mechanism for corruption prevention.

But, how could a seemingly normal or harmless act of giving or receiving gifts be associated with a malpractice such as corruption?

The act of giving and receiving gifts is well entrenched in many cultures. People give gifts to their loved ones at weddings, at graduation ceremonies, at baptisms and many other occasions.

It is also normal to see companies giving out gifts around festive seasons such as Christmas as a way of recognising and rewarding customers for their loyalty in the year.

The gifts can be in the form of souvenirs such as calendars while some can be of higher monetary value such as phones and expensive beverages.

As a principle, a gift must be given without any expectation of benefit on the part of the giver. There is, however, a point when gifts become an ethical concern. This is when the giver has intentions to induce undue favours from the receiver or compels the receiver to reciprocate in a similar proportion.

Some companies have won lucrative deals with government institutions just by ensuring that some influential authorities constantly receive generous gifts and gratifications. These gifts and gratifications take many forms such as payments for club memberships, fully paid for vacations, support during sickness or bereavement, vehicles, cash and even houses.

On a positive note, there are companies that have gift policies that provide guidance on how the companies can engage in the culture of gifting. The gift policies determine, for instance, what gifts are acceptable and which ones are not. Employees in these companies are also able to know when a gift exceeds its innocence and what to do in such circumstances. Perhaps as a way of promoting ethical business practices, such policies must be enhanced and the government as the main client of the private sector must put measures to recognise and “reward” companies with good policies.

On the other hand, over the years we have also heard of how the business sector has allegedly been supporting political parties especially during electoral campaigns. Receipt of donations from individuals and organizations by political parties is regulated under Section 27 of the Political Parties Act (No.1) of 2018.

The Act requires that political parties must declare to the Registrar any donations of monetary values exceeding 1 million Kwacha from individuals or K2 million from organisations. Reading recent stories of how some parties benefited from donations from companies that are being investigated for crimes, it is doubtful that the law on receiving donations or gifts by political parties is followed to the letter.

Further, while political parties are required by law to be transparent on donations received, companies or individuals cannot, under current laws, be held liable for failure to declare donations made to political parties or to any influential public authorities.

This gap in accountability and transparency creates a situation where it is very easy for anyone to engage in unethical gifting practices that can potentially compromise the integrity of government institutions or in worst situations lead to state capture.

All I am trying to say is that some gifts can be a trap. It is therefore important that our country’s anti-corruption drive must be vigilant towards ensuring effective regulation of gifts or donations, especially on entities with business and political interests. n