Is it legitimate for governments to receive gifts from companies that have been awarded contracts?

The US$50,000 “thank you gift” from Chinese company Huawei to the Guyana government after being awarded a US$14 million contract to lay fibre-optic cables here, has raised questions about the propriety of such transactions.

“It is unethical. In some countries in Europe and North America, the company could be prosecuted,” Professor Clive Thomas told Stabroek News recently.   “What they [the company] can do through their corporate…..