Corruption and coronavirus: transparency’s role in ensuring an effective response and recovery
OpenOwnership · Apr 2020
Release time and date: 30 April, 12:00 GMT
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About: This recorded panel will explore the issues at the heart of tackling corruption in healthcare and disaster response, as well as the need to ensure an equitable, fair and corruption-free global economic response.
The coronavirus pandemic is weighing heavily on the social, economic and political aspects of nearly everyone’s lives. In order for governments to respond effectively to this enormous challenge, they will need to rely on good governance and high levels of public trust. Governments have been relying on existing governance systems and high levels of public trust and consent for the existing and extraordinary interventions aimed at mitigating the virus. As attention shifts from the health response to the economic recovery, good governance and high trust will be critical.
Corruption and unaccountable mismanagement are therefore the insider threats that can unravel the response and the emerging social contract between citizens, government and business. The first and most pressing challenge is to limit the excesses of corruption in healthcare – a highly at-risk sector at all times. This will be critical to ensure governments can access high quality, affordable products needed for the response. But, what comes next? As our economies are remade through unprecedented government stimulus, it is important to ask how we will ensure that these interventions – designed quickly for a crisis – will not condemn us to repeat the failures of the past and allow bad actors to profit as others suffer.
OpenOwnership believes that understanding the complex corporate structures that often exist within our economies, and gathering good information on who is ultimately benefiting from our societies responses to COVID-19, are necessary and urgent preconditions to a good recovery and an effective public health response to pandemic. Too little information exists on this important issue, but things are changing around the world and more governments are committing and delivering transparency on businesses’ ownership. The question now is how do we accelerate and build this vital information into COVID response.
Please note, to ensure the speakers have good quality video and audio, we are recording this panel in advance.
Moderator:
Panellists:
- John Penrose MP, UK Government, Anti-Corruption Champion
- Thom Townsend, OpenOwnership, Executive Director
- Che Sidanius, Refinitiv, Global Head of Financial Crime & Industry Affairs
- Prof. Sope Williams-Elegbe, Head of Department of Mercantile Law, and the Deputy Director of the African Procurement Law Unit, Stellenbosch University
- Rachel Cooper, Transparency International - Health Initiative, Director
