Widespread lapses in accountability plagued the global response to Covid-19 and recovery efforts will require far stronger oversight, the International Budget Partnership has found.

By the end of 2020, governments had mobilized $14trn in fiscal policy responses, including spending, tax relief and loans or guarantees.

Many bypassed common procedures to do so, in an attempt to get money and services to people who needed them during the crisis, but the IBP said this only exacerbated existing problems with transparency.

“Governments are taking a series of measures out of a sense of urgency – such as bypassing legislatures, relaxing procurement procedures and not seeking citizens’ inputs – that undermine accountability,” a new report said.

“While such shortcuts may feel justifiable, given the huge uncertainties surrounding the pandemic and the need to respond speedily, they make it more difficult for citizens and their representatives to understand what governments are really doing.”

The IBP said ‘fiscal openness’ – i.e. allowing and promoting transparency and participation in policy-making – not only reduces corruption but also leads to more equitable outcomes.

It looked at 120 governments’ fiscal responses to the pandemic, judging them on three “pillars of accountability”: public access to information; oversight arrangements; and opportunities for civic engagement.

Just four governments (Australia, Norway, Peru and the Philippines) were found to have had an ‘adequate’ level of accountability, with none qualifying as ‘substantive’.

Only 29 had ‘some’ accountability, while 55 had ‘limited’ and 32 had ‘minimal’.

Nearly two-thirds of governments failed to follow transparent procurement procedures; almost half bypassed legislatures to expedite relief packages; and only a quarter published audit reports by the end of 2020.

At a launch event for the report, senior policy director Vivek Ramkumar pointed to the International Monetary Fund’s advice to governments: “do whatever it takes, but keep the receipts”.

“We don’t think there’s a trade-off between an emergency response and the strengthening of that response,” he said.

“We don’t think a crisis can be an excuse for a misuse of public funds.

“Unfortunately, this [report] shows too many governments are falling short, to the detriment of the publics they serve. It doesn’t have to be this way.”

The IBP’s ‘scorecard’ “strongly correlated” with its pre-pandemic 2019 Open Budget Survey, which it said suggests countries with stronger accountability during normal times tend to remain transparent during a crisis.

Michael Aguinaldo, head of the Philippines’ supreme audit institution, said his country often deals with emergency situations, such as natural disasters, and preparedness is key.

“Whenever we have this kind of crisis, it’s always an opportunity to abuse,” he said.

“That’s why transparency is even more important.”

Under emergency legislation, the president could have suspended procurement law, Aguinaldo said, but he chose not to, and the government gave weekly reports on its spending.

Good examples in the report included Paraguay, which set up a single website with all Covid-19-related procurement contracts, and Jamaica, which carried out three audit reviews of its cash transfer programmes.

It also praised Norway, where both the executive and legislature consulted people who would be affected, including disadvantaged groups, on the formulation and implementation of response packages.

Action is needed now, the IBP said, to improve accountability in the ongoing response to the crisis.

Monthly progress reports on policy implementation, openly publishing details of procurement contracts, empowering national audit offices and allowing citizen participation should all be explored, the report said.