Repression and resilience: Diagnosing closing space mid-pandemic

18 REPRESSION AND RESILIENCE: DIAGNOSING CLOSING SPACE MID-PANDEMIC
Price gouging has been particularly damaging for public
bodies acquiring personal protective equipment against
COVID-19: several governments purchased masks at 25
times the original price 41 , while the World Bank estimated
that prices have gone up 2,000% for some items. 42 The
WHO reported that the price of N95 respirators have
trebled and that of medical gowns have doubled, 43 at
the expense of the health of frontline personnel and
vulnerable citizens.
The case studies similarly saw an abuse and
mismanagement of state and external pandemic
resources, for the benefit of elites and at the expense
of public health. In Kenya and El Salvador in particular,
major irregularities were seen in public procurement
to counter the health and food crisis. In both cases,
investigative journalists were the strongest oversight
actors, scrutinising public information and uncovering
major irregularities and corruption cases.
In addition to the mismanagement of funds, most
governments studied in the country cases became less
transparent. This ranges from the failure to proactively
publicise relevant information, to a lack of public
consultation for the adoption of new laws. In Indonesia,
a Mineral and Coal Mining Law was passed without any
stakeholder consultation, completely bypassing civil
society. In contrast, Honduras saw a government effort to
increase transparency at the time of the pandemic, with
a new regulation to establish transparency institutions
and digital administration. Yet this same country was
also marred by irregularities in the purchasing of health
equipment, with audits showing criminal elites were
involved in the purchasing and contracts for hospital
mobiles and beds.
Rights of women and disadvantaged
people
An investigative report in Kenya dubbed “COVID-19
millionaires” revealed how connected companies and
individuals made billions of Kenyan Shillings from
COVID-19 funds through dubious tendering processes
for medical products. 44 The discovery of the corruption
left Kenyans outraged and led citizens to pressure the
government on social media on an unprecedented scale.
The media investigations and social media protests were
met with some success, leading to proper investigations
by an anti-corruption commission and suspensions in the
health ministry. The mismanagement of pandemic funds
awakened a sense of injustice and led to more vigorous
calls for greater democracy from Kenyan citizens.
As the pandemic reinforced existing trends, women and
disadvantaged communities were most affected by the
pandemic itself and by the measures that came with it. A
major increase in domestic and gender-based violence
was observed around the world, 45 as exemplified by
the worrying increase in the number of calls recorded
by national women’s helplines worldwide after the
introduction of lockdown measures. 46 This global trend
was reflected in the case studies. 47 In Colombia, the
number of phone calls to report domestic violence
episodes across the country increased 142% during
the first three weeks of confinement. A similar increase
in domestic violence occurred in Guatemala, where
the Presidential Secretariat for Women was closed
41 Transparency International (2020): First Response: Procure Medical Supplies at Any Cost (and Risk). Available here.
42 The Economist Intelligence Unit (2020): The future of public spending: Responses to COVID-19. Available here.
43 WHO (2020): “News release: Shortage of personal protective equipment endangering health workers worldwide”. Available here.
44 BBC News (24 September 2020): “Coronavirus corruption in Kenya: Officials and businesspeople targeted”. Accessed on 26/03/2021,
available here.
45 Amnesty International (2021): Amnesty International Report 2020/21: The state of the world’s human rights. Available here.
46 UNODC (2020): Research brief: What crime and helpline data say about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on reported violence
against women and girls. Available here.
47 Particularly in Honduras, El Salvador and Colombia.