Corruption surge expected in humanitarian sector

Abuse, fraud and corruption could go unchecked as the coronavirus pandemic halts some humanitarian services, New Zealand-based investigators say.

Marlborough residents Sean and Jaydene Buckley run a Ma¯ ori-managed company, Osaco Group, which conducts independent investigations into corruption, fraud and sexual assault within the humanitarian sector.

As the pandemic escalated several weeks ago, they pulled investigators from the field and are now managing their caseload from their Blenheim home. They are working ‘‘flat out’’ on a steady stream of cases, and expect the workload could increase as the sector enters ‘‘dangerous times’’.

With borders heavily restricted and governments and nonprofit organisations preoccupied, Sean Buckley said the pandemic could lead to a surge in corruption, fraud and abuse.

‘‘International organisations – a lot of them have had to repatriate their international staff and have left it to local staff to run things. There’s not going to be that governance and oversight sitting there for many of them.’’

African nations and some Middle Eastern countries had so far been spared the worst of the pandemic, but they would be hit hard by closed borders and disrupted supply chains.

‘‘Aid includes things like food and sanitation being pumped into those countries by the humanitarian sector. If those things are slowing up it’s going to magnify the problems that they’ve already got – lack of air transportation, lack of shipping,’’ he said.

‘‘And you’ve still got refugees moving from country to country . . . The humanitarian sector relies a lot on the ease of movement across borders.’’

He said the pandemic was unlike any crisis they had seen.

Compared with many of their investigators who were locked down the likes of France, the United States and Pakistan, they felt blessed to be in Blenheim, ‘‘probably one of the best places on the planet to be right now’’.

Sean Buckley said he hoped New Zealand would ride out the pandemic more smoothly than most countries.

‘‘There’s no quick fix – we’ve gone down the rabbit hole now, and it’s going to take a hell of a lot of work by everyone to get things back to where they were prior to this.’’