Corruption should not infest COVID-19 efforts

The 2020 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) was released yesterday by Transparency International. Ghana scored 43 out of a possible clean score of 100 and is ranked 75 out of
180 countries included in this year’s index.
This CPI score indicates that Ghana gained two points compared to its 2019 score of 41. Ghana’s score also exceeds the Sub-Saharan African (SSA) average of 32 and is equal to the global average score of 43.
According to the report, Denmark and New Zealand topped the 2020 CPI with 88 points each. Syria, Somalia and South Sudan are at the bottom with 14, 12 and 12 points respectively. The highest scoring region is Western Europe and the European Union with an average score of 66, whilst the lowest scoring region is Sub-Saharan Africa with an average score of 32.
The 2020 Corruption Index also reveals that persistent corruption is undermining health care systems and contributing to democratic backsliding amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and rather unfortunately, most Sub-Saharan African countries have been caught in this web.
According to Delia Ferreira Rubio, Chairperson of Transparency International, “COVID-19 is not just [a] health and economic crisis. It is a corruption crisis, and one that we are currently failing to manage.”
In the face of the raging COVID-19 pandemic, corruption will pose a critical threat to the lives and livelihoods of people.
The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted on Ghana in the 2020 fiscal year. Growth projection slowed down, financial conditions were tightened, and the exchange rate came under pressure. The budget deficit was projected to widen, given lower government revenues and higher spending needs related to the pandemic.
As a result, Ghana applied for the IMF Rapid Credit Facility to help address the urgent fiscal and balance of payments needs, and to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and support affected households and firms.
On April 13, 2020, the IMF Executive Board approved the disbursement of US$1 billion to be drawn under the Rapid Credit Facility. The Chronicle hopes that when it comes to accounting for the drawing and expending of the Rapid Credit Facility in the period of a pandemic, the gatekeepers will not be found wanting.
In an increasingly uncertain world, where emergencies and pandemics abound, fighting corruption is key to ensuring better preparedness for crises responses. For instance, in Nigeria, the Federal Government rolled out palliative measures for targeted groups.
However, lamentations have trailed the distribution of government palliatives by the citizens, and at a certain stage it was alleged that the process of distribution of the palliatives had been highly politicised.
The Secretary General of the UN, António Guterres, was apt in saying: “Corruption is criminal, immoral and the ultimate betrayal of public trust. It is even more damaging in times of crisis – as the world is experiencing now with the COVID-19 pandemic.”
To ensure that this unprecedented level of assistance can have the most impact, the IMF must take extraordinary measures to put additional mitigation procedures in place. In providing emergency financial assistance, the IMF must also ensure governments are transparent about procurements and results.
The Chronicle believes anti-corruption procedures and systems of accountability will ensure that development aid is deployed to benefit those who need it the most. And that is the way to go.

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