Watch out for corruption in post-COVID-19 spending

With public infrastructure investment set to play a key role in post-COVID-19 recovery in developing countries, governments will be challenged to protect public funds from the scourge of corruption and to otherwise make informed decisions with regard to the allocation of funding of projects, says the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Working against the backdrop of what are likely to be tight resources, governments will be pressured to spend taxpayer money wisely on the right projects. For this, countries need good infrastructure governance, strong institutions and frameworks to plan, allocate, and implement quality public infrastructure, the article, jointly authored by Gerd Schwartz, Manal Fouad, Torben Hansen, and Geneviève Verdier and published in the September issue of the Fund’s Finance and Development Magazine, says.