The Covid-19 pandemic underpins the need to deal with the problem of corruption, which the International Monetary Fund warns may hamper the response of governments to the global crisis and deepen its economic impact on struggling nations.
Governments around the world are playing a central role in the economy, providing financial lifelines to people and firms. The expanded role is crucial, however, it has increased opportunities for corruption, three senior IMF officials said in a joint blog post.
For funds and benefits of fiscal measures to reach the people who need it most, governments must implement transparent reporting and audit and accountability procedures, they said.
“During this crisis the IMF has not taken its eye off the ball of our governance and anticorruption work,” the fund's fiscal affairs department director Vitor Gaspar; its strategy, policy, and review department director Martin Mühleisen and general counsel Rhoda Weeks-Brown, wrote.
“Our message to all governments has been clear: spend whatever you need but keep the receipts, because we don’t want accountability to be lost in the process.”
The IMF has significantly increased its focus on governance and corruption over the last few years. Governance safeguards for the pandemic-related assistance are part of the Washington-based lender’s effort to improve its member countries’ efforts to tackle corruption.
“We speak more candidly and in-depth about governance issues with countries,” they wrote.
Covid-19 has killed more than 654,000 people worldwide and infected about 16.5 million others, according to Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking the pandemic. The world economy is facing its deepest recession since the Great Depression and is set to shrink 4.9 per cent this year before making a sluggish recovery in 2021, according to IMF projections.
The fund expects the world economy to lose more than $12 trillion (Dh44.1tn) in GDP this year and next. Two thirds of governments have already pumped about $11tn into their economies to support businesses and protect jobs. However, most emerging and developing nations are still struggling to revive growth.
The IMF and the World Bank are providing credit facilities and grants to help the poorest nations to strengthen their health infrastructure and deal with the economic fallout from the pandemic. As of mid-July, 72 countries had received financial assistance from the IMF’s emergency financing instruments.
Last week, the fund temporarily increased the amount of financing member countries can request in a year and removed caps on the number of funding disbursements poor countries can secure. The rise in annual limits on access to resources in its General Resources Account and the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, came as an “unprecedented number of member countries" sought financial support, it said at the time.
Although the fund has provided “quick disbursements to meet urgent needs”, enhanced governance measures to track Covid-19-related spending have been part of the emergency financing for countries, according to the blog post.
Borrowing members have committed to publish independent ex-post audits of crisis-related spending details of procurement contracts on the government’s website, including identifying the companies and their beneficiaries receiving the contract.
“Curbing corruption requires government ownership of reforms, international cooperation and a joint effort with civil society and the private sector," the fund's officials said. "It also involves political will and the assiduous implementation of reforms over months and years.”
“This crisis will sharpen our focus on governance in the years ahead because of the pandemic’s devastating effects and costs for people and economies. If ever there was a time for anticorruption reforms, it is now.”
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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World Cricket League Division 2
In Windhoek, Namibia - Top two teams qualify for the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe, which starts on March 4.
UAE fixtures
Thursday February 8, v Kenya; Friday February 9, v Canada; Sunday February 11, v Nepal; Monday February 12, v Oman; Wednesday February 14, v Namibia; Thursday February 15, final
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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MATCH INFO
Tottenham Hotspur 1
Kane (50')
Newcastle United 0
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
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RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner: JAP Almahfuz, Fernando Jara (jockey), Irfan Ellahi (trainer).
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh90,000 1,400m
Winner: AF Momtaz, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi.
6pm: Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 1,400m
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6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Championship Listed (PA) Dh180,000 1,600m
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7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Winner: Dahess D’Arabie, Fernando Jara, Helal Al Alawi.
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 2.200m
Winner: Ezz Al Rawasi, Connor Beasley, Helal Al Alawi.
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre V6
Power: 295hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 355Nm at 5,200rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.7L/100km
Price: Dh179,999-plus
On sale: now
My Country: A Syrian Memoir
Kassem Eid, Bloomsbury
Match info
Manchester United 4
(Pogba 5', 33', Rashford 45', Lukaku 72')
Bournemouth 1
(Ake 45 2')
Red card: Eric Bailly (Manchester United)
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The Gentlemen
Director: Guy Ritchie
Stars: Colin Farrell, Hugh Grant
Three out of five stars
Company%20Profile
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Apple product price list
iPad Pro
11" - $799 (64GB)
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$1,199
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$799
Our family matters legal consultant
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Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 4 (Gundogan 8' (P), Bernardo Silva 19', Jesus 72', 75')
Fulham 0
Red cards: Tim Ream (Fulham)
Man of the Match: Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City)
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
One-off T20 International: UAE v Australia
When: Monday, October 22, 2pm start
Where: Abu Dhabi Cricket, Oval 1
Tickets: Admission is free
Australia squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Darcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa, Peter Siddle
PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Profile
Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari
Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.
Number of employees: Over 50
Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised
Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital
Sector of operation: Transport
