We recently published a story detailing the catastrophic impact of looting on Lesotho’s efforts to combat Covid-19. This has also been a subject of wide coverage in the country’s media.
We will not let the matter go just yet. Let’s take a global perspective to the matter. A report of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development titled “Public integrity for an effective Covid-19 response and recovery” issued in April, stated that besides the procurement of goods and services required to directly address the current Covid-19 crisis, governments also have to manage ongoing public contracts.
“Governments, alongside their contracting authorities, must ensure that the suppliers most at risk are in a position to resume normal contract delivery once the outbreak is contained. Public procurement legislation often provides exceptional measures for paying ongoing contracts in emergency situations, for example allowing specific advance payments or exempting suppliers from penalties for the deficient performance of contracts. Such derogations to established practices that govern contractual relationships could open the door to corrupt practices, should those derogations not be subject to transparent guidelines communicated to all contracting authorities.”
In her 2015 book, “Thieves of State: Why Corruption Threatens Global Security,” Sarah Chayes, using Afghanistan as a case study, explains the consequence of unchecked corruption. Unchecked corruption is the source of instability, national frustration, and can be the cause for violence or violent protests and people seeking puritanical solutions. Chayes refers to the Afghan government as a vertically integrated criminal network where low-level government officials skim money from the population and the high-level officials loot the money with a guarantee of protection from prosecution.
According to South African scholar Omphemetse Sibanda, corruption and well-planned criminal networks are what we all should be worried about with regard to governments’ economic recovery plans.
And, yes, we are not afraid to say it: the government is organised in a mafia style, with kleptocrats, skimmers, and thieves waiting to fleece resources earmarked for the post-Covid-19 recovery plan.
