Implementation of Governance Measures in Pandemic-Related Spending, May 2022
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Purpose and scope
- The document provides a country-by-country update on the implementation status of measures to promote good governance and transparency in pandemic-related spending that countries committed to take in the context of IMF financing during the pandemic.
- Information is as of May 17, 2022.
- The update covers commitments made in the context of IMF financing provided (i) by Rapid Credit Facilities or Rapid Financing Instruments for which the COVID pandemic was a primary basis for the urgent BOP need and/or (ii) under regular IMF-supported programs through April 2021.
- The coverage spans 73 countries.
Typical commitments and institutional context
- Common measures committed to include:
- (i) publishing information on pandemic-related procurement contracts,
- (ii) publishing the beneficial owners of companies awarded these contracts,
- (iii) publicly reporting on pandemic-related spending, and/or
- (iv) undertaking and publishing ex-post audits of such spending.
- All recipient countries commit to undertake a Safeguards Assessment of their central bank to ensure reliable information and transparent management of IMF funds.
- IMF work is guided by the 2018 Framework for Enhanced Fund Engagement on Governance.
Overall assessment and major progress points
- Major progress has been made in implementing these measures, though further efforts are needed in some cases.
- Factors affecting implementation across the 73 countries include:
- Some measures were continuations of existing practices (e.g., reporting on spending).
- Other measures were novel for many countries (e.g., publication of beneficial ownership information or emergency spending audits), requiring institution-building and legal changes.
Broad trends across measure types
- Publication of procurement contract information:
- Commitments have been met in about two-thirds of the countries.
- In some countries final steps are still ongoing (e.g., most contract information has been published, but some remains pending).
- IMF staff have provided capacity development support to help authorities implement these measures.
- Reporting on pandemic-related spending:
- About two-thirds of countries have fully implemented their commitments to report pandemic-related spending.
- IMF staff provided capacity development support on fiscal transparency and reporting.
- Audits of pandemic-related spending:
- Half of the commitments to audit pandemic-related spending and publish the results online have been implemented so far.
- Another twenty percent of countries have made substantial progress on completing these audits but still need to finalize and publish them.
- Examples of action: fragile states including Mali and South Sudan produced and published detailed audits of emergency spending; multiple audits were produced in Ecuador, Kenya, Jamaica, South Africa, and Uganda.
- IMF staff are stepping up capacity development to help supreme audit institutions and to ensure audit information is easily accessible.
- Beneficial ownership transparency in procurement:
- So far, only about twenty percent of countries have fully implemented their commitments to provide beneficial ownership transparency in procurement.
- Another fifty percent have taken important steps, such as drafting and/or adopting legal changes to allow this reform.
- Implementation has been slowed in many cases by the need for legal changes and/or capacity constraints.
- IMF staff are providing capacity development support to more than 20 countries.
- Some countries, such as Ecuador and Moldova, adopted beneficial ownership transparency in procurement on a permanent basis beyond pandemic-related spending.
- Safeguards Assessments:
- Safeguard assessments are being undertaken rapidly, with the pace of these assessments doubling since the pandemic’s onset.
- Some 45 assessments have been completed during the pandemic.
- The pipeline associated with the pandemic is down to less than half a dozen to be completed.
Policy implications and recommendations
- Sustained implementation and institutional strengthening are needed to consolidate gains in transparency and accountability:
- Continue to publish procurement contracts, beneficial ownership information, and timely audits as standard practice for all spending.
- Strengthen supreme audit institutions, procurement systems, and legal frameworks (including for beneficial ownership) to enable sustained implementation.
- Provide continued capacity development support where legal and technical constraints exist.
- Addressing deeper governance and corruption vulnerabilities requires persistence and broader reform:
- Continue governance and anti-corruption reforms under the IMF’s 2018 Framework for Enhanced Fund Engagement on Governance.
- Pursue political ownership of reforms by country authorities.
- Enhance international cooperation to make it harder to launder proceeds of corruption abroad.
- Engage civil society, the private sector, and other stakeholders to promote accountability and transparency.
- IMF engagement examples and support:
- Recent governance and anti-corruption reforms in multi-year lending arrangements include fiscal governance reforms in Ecuador, The Gambia, Jordan, Liberia, Rwanda and Senegal; strengthening of anti-corruption, rule of law, and anti-money laundering frameworks in Angola, Ecuador, Republic of Congo, Moldova, Pakistan and Suriname; and financial sector oversight and central bank governance reforms in Liberia and Ukraine.
- IMF staff have delivered governance diagnoses and supported countries in producing their own governance diagnostic reports that provide prioritized and sequenced blueprints to address corruption and governance vulnerabilities.
Content in this bundle
- Suriname
- May22matrix Implementation Status of Governance Commitments on Pandemic Related Spending
References