BudgIT, in collaboration with Connected Development (CODE) and Global Integrity, have launched phase two of the COVID-19 Transparency and Accountability Project (CTAP).
It can be recalled that, following the emergence of the devastating global pandemic, governments scrambled to address the scourge and therefore solicited funds to fight the disease. In order to ensure that these governments are accountable for managing the funds, BudgIT, in collaboration with Connected Development (CODE), embarked on a donor-funded COVID-19 Transparency and Accountability Project (CTAP) concerned with advocating for accountability, open governance, strengthening civic awareness and ensuring governments use COVID-19 intervention funds transparently.
Having carried out initial research and engagement in phase one of the project (from 2020 to 2022), BudgIT seeks to enhance its findings by evaluating governance structures, administration and fiscal management regarding COVID-19 from the perspective of state capacity for voluntary and self-initiated accountability and citizens’ involvement.
In a summary note of the COVID-19 Transparency and Accountability Project, BudgIT underscored that African governments’ response to the pandemic has been characterized by instances of mismanagement, waste and blatant corruption. “Issues such as unlawful procurement, political use of monetary and other reliefs and the diversion of funds have led many communities to deal with the hardship of the pandemic in economic and social isolation,” a portion of the project’s summary stated.
According to BudgIT, this has affected citizens’ trust in government, reproduced social divisions and increased inequality, leaving countries in a poor position to promote economic recovery.
“To address this, the COVID-19 Transparency and Accountability in Africa Project (CTAP) was commissioned as a civil society-led effort involving BudgIT Foundation and Connected Development (CODE) to bolster citizens’ engagement and promote change in the ways that governments use public resources and increase the capacity of governments to meet people’s needs,” the project summary continued.
CTAP is a collaboration between BudgIT, Connected Development (CODE), Global Integrity, as well as partners in eight African countries: Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone. Under CTAP phase-1, these partners used a combination of approaches to generate information on how COVID-19 funds were used by governments and leveraged that information to advocate and collaborate with governments to bring about change. In CTAP phase-2, these partners are expected to work with diverse stakeholders, including governments and communities, to institute mechanisms for health sector accountability, foster effective and equitable COVID-19 vaccine distribution and mount effective advocacies that mainstream health sector’s best practices.