Transparency International, Human Rights Watch, and Global Witness have asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to include transparency and anti-corruption measures in Coronavirus-related emergency relief programmes.
This, they said, is to ensure that the billions of dollars it is disbursing to dozens of countries actually help the most vulnerable. The three organisations made the suggestion in a letter to the IMF Executive Board, which is published on the website of Human Rights Watch.
In the letter, the organisations proposed four areas the IMF should focus on, including transparency and accountability in Public Procurement which is expected to mitigate risks such as hidden contracts; IMF transparency which suggests funds should publish all information-related to programmes; auditing by government and independent monitors, as well as implementing and strengthening existing anti-corruption and anti-money laundering frameworks.
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Delia Ferreira Rubio, Chair of Transparency International, said the urgent need to support countries in their efforts during the pandemic makes transparency and accountability in government spending critically important.
Rubio said that “the crisis requires the IMF to make funds available as quickly as possible, but it shouldn’t abandon its commitment to fighting corruption. The scale of the crisis raises the risks and dangers of the theft of public money that should be used to save lives and rebuild livelihoods.”
Over 90 countries have already requested emergency assistance, the highest number in the IMF’s 75-year history.
Unlike with the fund’s standard programmes, emergency funds are generally disbursed in lump sums, with limited (if any) transparency, conditions, or reviews.
But in recent years, the IMF has put a renewed emphasis on combatting corruption as part of a broader recognition that resilient economies require good governance, inclusive growth, and strong social protections.
This led to the adoption of a new framework that committed the fund to systematically address corruption risks in its surveillance and lending in April 2018.
Mid last month, IMF made a commitment to mobilise millions of dollars to support countries battling Covid-19.
Sarah Saadoun, business and human rights researcher at Human Rights Watch, said the IMF’s pledge to unleash up to $1 trillion to help governments in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic holds extraordinary potential to save lives and protect the people hardest hit.
“With lives on the line, it is critical for the IMF to maintain its commitment to stem corruption so that people can hold their governments accountable for where the money goes,” she adds.
These organisations believe that dramatic increases in the amounts and speed of spending, as well as distractions or breakdowns that interfere with oversight mechanisms, can allow powerful actors to take advantage of the crisis for their own benefit.
They stated that at this early stage of the pandemic, there are dozens of media reports of corruption and other criminal activities related to COVID-19 spending.
“Recent years have seen the IMF creatively use its leverage to help drive anti-corruption reforms. The pandemic is wreaking havoc with public health and the economies of nations, so it is right for the IMF to step in to help – but we call for the Fund’s leadership to make sure that rapid disbursements do not come at the expense of basic transparency and sensible anti-corruption measures that should be required of recipient countries,” Simon Taylor, founder, Global Witness said.
