In light of the recent controversy over the R1.1m Mercedes given to Transport Minister S'bu Ndebele, as well as concerns raised in a recent Public Service Commission (PSC) report on gifts, we call on the new Minister of Public Service to take charge of implementing a better management system for gifts to members of the public service.

The PSC report, Report on the Management of Gifts in the Public Service, released in March, found that there are "contradictions and ambiguities" in the current regulatory provisions regarding gifts to public servants. One of these is that the Financial Disclosure Framework provides that senior managers may receive gifts without approval, as long as the gifts are valued at less than R350, while the Code of Conduct states that no public servant should accept gifts without approval.

There are various other laws and regulations with different prescriptions, leaving a large state of uncertainty over the whole question. Furthermore, there are no provisions for penalties if any of the various regulations are transgressed.

The report also shows enormous uncertainty amongst public servants about gifts. While almost half were aware of gifts being offered to officials in their sections, and almost a third said that gift-giving was "common-place", 44% could not say whether public servants should receive gifts or not. Only a third of public servants knew with certainty that their department had a gift register although 79% said there was a need for such a policy.

At the same time, more public servants believed that gifts caused problems for their objectivity and independence (33%) than those who believed they did not (29%).

Public servants are paid by the public and serve the public and they must be obliged to display the highest standards of ethical conduct. Therefore we hope that the new Minister Richard Baloyi will act to address these deficiencies, and in the meantime the DA will look into putting forward a Private Member's Bill to address the problems.