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Fiscal
Transparency
in Times of
Emergency:
Covid-19
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| Covid-19:
The role of fiscal
transparency
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March
2020 has forever marked
our lives. These past
weeks have been among some
of the most turbulent,
unsettling and emotional
that many of us can
remember in our lifetimes.
We have been very
concerned about the sick
and deeply saddened by
those who have lost their
lives. We are extremely
proud of all those on the
front lines of the fight,
helping the sick recover
and slowing the spread of
the epidemic. For the rest
of us, it is clear that
acting together, with
empathy, coordination,
commitment and
collaboration has never
been so crucial. And from
our trench, there is a lot
that we can, and ought, to
do.
The impact of the
coronavirus outbreak has
been felt by individuals
and families, governments
and communities, companies
and institutions, around
the world. For a network
such as GIFT, integrated
by budget authorities,
civil society
organizations, expert
agencies and international
financial institutions,
the impact and the
responsibility are also of
great importance. In the
majority of countries, the
fiscal and budgetary
efforts to control the
epidemic and to revive
development have
dimensions never before
seen. These are actions
that are absolutely
necessary and justified.
But decision-making and
approval need balance,
plurality and open
discussions, and
implementation requires
adequate monitoring and
accountability mechanisms.
These are public
resources; this is
people’s money. And the
cost of failing is
enormous: lives are at
stake, poverty levels will
be impacted, for better or
worse, and the risks of
marginalization,
helplessness and social
polarization, due to waste
and corruption, are
greater than ever.
For all of these reasons,
transparency is of utmost
importance in the fiscal
responses to the pandemic.
And public participation
is indispensable for
successful implementation.
In the era of
digitalization and open
data, people confinement
cannot lead to increased
government opacity and
unaccountable authorities.
Pandemic mitigation cannot
be a pretext for
government opacity,
impunity, shrinkage of
civic space, repression,
violations of human rights
and authoritarianism.
Institutional checks and
balances, democratic
mechanisms and free press,
must be nurtured and
strengthened by
transparency and citizen
empowerment.
The roles of international
financial institutions,
ministries of finance and
civil society
organizations, convinced
and committed to fiscal
transparency, such as the
GIFT stewards, are
paramount to avoid
disaster. We have seen how
catastrophic the results
of stimulus packages and
mayor financial bail outs
can be in the absence of
transparency and without
citizen engagement. We
cannot afford to mess up
the management of either
the fight against the
pandemic or the fight
against economic collapse.
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Fiscal
Transparency in
Times of Emergency
Response:
Reflections
for times of Covid-19
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Dealing
with the emergence of the
Covid-19 pandemic requires
an exceptional effort from
society and government,
which certainly includes
public finances. Such
drastic financial measures
pose significant
transparency challenges.
Gathering and publishing
-quality and timely-
information is essential
to mitigate the risks that
can complicate internal
and external monitoring
and can be a culprit for
mismanagement, corruption,
and unforeseen fiscal
risks (see blog
post).
Transparency measures
should contemplate the
users’ needs of
information,
both internal,
who will seek to use the
data for decision-making,
and external,
who require the data to
provide feedback, monitor
implementation, and foster
accountability.
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To
continue and deepen this
reflection and facilitate
further guidance for
implementation, the GIFT
Network will host a series
of online events where
stewards and partners will
be able to share
their perspectives and
lessons learned about
fiscal openness
(transparency and
engagement) in times of
emergency.
Together with civil
society advocates,
they will also be able to
develop guidance
for governments seeking
to implement transparent
emergency response
measures.
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| UNPACKING
GUIDES for Covid-19
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Webinar
on April 7
Reflections
& recommendations
for Fiscal Openness in
times of emergency:
Budget adjustments for
Covid-19
Join
Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/600846717
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Organizations
Working Together – April
9
Workshop
(in
Spanish)
to co-create guidance
for fiscal Open Data in
emergency responses:
Initial application for
Covid-19
Hands-On!
Governments + CSOs +
International
By invitation, contact lorena@fiscaltransparency.net
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Reflections
& recommendations
for Fiscal Openness in
times of emergency:
Macroeconomic
implications for
Covid-19
Webinar
date to be confirmed, follow
us on Twitter and Facebook to
stay informed
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Workshop
(in
English)
to co-create guidance
for fiscal Open Data in
emergency responses:
Initial application for
Covid-19
Hands-On!
Governments + CSOs +
International
By invitation, contact lorena@fiscaltransparency.net
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The
kick-off meeting of the
“Fiscal Openness
Accelerator” project took
place on March 2-3, 2020.
This project is supported
by the U.S. Department of
State and the OGP
Multi-Donor Trust Fund,
for the benefit of five
countries – Nigeria,
Liberia, South Africa,
Benin and Senegal.
The main objective of the
project is to strengthen
the technical capacities
of the 5 countries
mentioned above to
implement meaningful
public participation
mechanisms throughout the
budget cycle at the
national level.
We are glad to announce
the signing of the
Memorandums of
Understanding with the
participating countries.
Welcome aboard!
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The
Pretoria meeting fulfilled
its main objectives,
including:
- Formalizing
the participants’
commitment to work
together as a team;
- Explaining
the FOA project and the
degree of engagement
expected from all
participants;
- Setting
the basic and common
conceptual framing and
key definitions for our
activities;
- Learning
about existing
participation practices;
and
- Clarifying
the rules and
expectations for the
actions plans.
IBP
and GIFT will provide
technical assistance and
support to the countries
involved, to help them
establish meaningful and
practical public
participation mechanisms.
All the workshop materials
are here: http://bit.ly/FOAproject
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To
achieve a truly informed
dialogue between
government and society,
based on the
supply of
budget information, it is
necessary to enable a
certain level of
understanding on the
matter and its complexity
on the part of the
demand; the
users of the information.
Budget literacy is an
effective tool not only in
identifying the
information needs and
goals of different
audiences, but as a
mechanism that allows
users to generate
capacities and get
involved (Read the blog
post here).
Starting in 2019, from
GIFT, as a global network,
we have implemented an
interaction dashboard that
clearly shows the current
plans of its Stewards and
partners. One of the
topics that we see most
frequently reflected in it
is budget literacy. For
this reason, GIFT, with
the initiative of the
Office of Planning and
Budget of Uruguay, took on
the task of beginning a
compilation of cases
implemented in the last
year. This month we
present four cases from
Latin American countries
that have decided to share
their progress and
experiences with the
community. In each of them
we appreciate different
approaches and target
population, as well as
country-specific origins:
organizers from the
government in some cases,
civil society or
collaborations between
both sectors in others:
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3
budget literacy tools as
part of a comprehensive
budget transparency
strategy – Uruguay
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From
direct interaction with
society, to a work plan to
improve a portal – Dominican
Republic
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Costa
Rica trains citizens for
the first time on Open
Budget – Costa
Rica
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Strengthening
organizations and
activists in budget
analysis with a gender
perspective – Argentina
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Check
out International Budget
Partnership’s new
platform
for long-form stories
about how budget work
impacts people’s lives.
You will find personal
stories of challenge,
change, and hope. Budget
transparency,
participation, and
oversight can make a
difference.
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IMF
Policy Tracker
Explore
the economic measures taken
by countries to address the
Covid-19 pandemic. Visit the
IMF new Covid-19 Policy
Tracker to see the list for
192 economies.
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World
Bank in FMIS
Learn
how countries can ensure
that their public financial
management systems are ready
to fund Covid-19 responses.
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Inter-American
Development Bank
Covid-19: Transparency to
ensure effective policies in
times of crisis. Blog entry
in Spanish.
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