Guest editorial: Transparency, accountability and the role of control mechanisms during the COVID-19 pandemic: a future research agenda in the context of emerging economies

The rapid spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) triggered an unprecedented global health crisis. This resulted in governments across the world having to take ‘wartime’ measures in promoting health and safety of their citizens. As a response to the pandemic, governments in different countries, advised by relevant experts, announced countrywide shutdowns, restricting the movement of people, suspending public transportation, and closing most businesses. In many countries, the government also unveiled unprecedented stimulus plans to mitigate the economic impact of the crisis on their citizens. Understandably, due to the nature of the pandemic, much of such public spending had to occur through an expedited process. This, in turn, could potentially create higher risks for corruption and mismanagement (ACCA, 2021). As Transparency International (TI 2020) highlights, extraordinary outbreaks like the COVID19 pandemic also give rise to opportunities for corruption, which might eventually undermine the response to the pandemic. Such corruption can happen in forms, ranging from underreporting of cases to gross irregularities in disbursements of various financial stimulus packages offered by governments