Bribery Commission renews call against year-end hampers
Sri Lanka’s main anti-graft body has renewed its call for public sector officials not to accept any year-end gift hampers as it has become an indirect way of bribing officials to get favours.
The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has informed the Ministry of Public Administration to direct the heads of public sector institutions and ministries to be vigilant on government servants soliciting such gifts during the festive season, a senior commissioner said.
While in reality the distribution of hampers is a practice carried out by private sector companies to their contacts and associates as a gesture of goodwill and hospitality, more expensive gifts are seen as a gratification.
The CIABOC has not received any complaints against any public servants following its reminder sent to the Public Administration Ministry and organizations including chambers to desist from this practice, Commissioner Neville Guruge told the Business Times.
He said both giving and accepting hampers were against the law and the commission could take action based on complaints.
However no such complaints have been received by the commission up to now, he said, adding that it was aware of the instances where public servants are soliciting and accepting gratifications from private companies by way of seasonal hampers during the festival season.
It is an offence under Section 19 (c) of the Bribery Act. Any person who aides and abets any public servant in committing the offence is liable to be tried under Section 25 of the Act, he pointed out.
In order to escape the bribery net, private sector firms are used to distribute supermarket vouchers, expensive consumer goods, television sets, refrigerators, mobile phones, airline tickets, prepaid holiday packages and groceries instead of giving money to public sector officials.
Such gifts cannot be considered as token of appreciation as those officials accepting it are bound to serve the public in accordance with the Establishment Code, a senior official of the Public Administration Ministry said.
Once receiving a hamper from a private company, public officials may tend to demand it every year; he said adding that the responsibility of the public is to make complaints against such government servants.
Giving a bribe to get the work done or obtain public service has become the present day culture in our society, he reminded noting that it is essential to maintain proper systems to make it difficult for anyone to break the law and reduce the instances of bribery and corruption.