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Key Text Improving Transparency, Integrity, and Accountability in Water Supply and Sanitation: Action, Learning, Experiences

Author: John Butterworth, Donald O'Leary, María González de Asís
Date: 2009
Size: 200 pages (2.4MB)

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Summary

What can individual professionals do to address corruption in the water and sanitation sector? Module 3 of this World Bank book outlines 'Tools for Addressing Corruption in the Water and Sanitation Sector', including how to select appropriate tools for different situations. It focuses on cases from Honduras and Nicaragua. Strategies to improve transparency in decision making, enhance accountability and improve the information available to citizens can help prevent corruption and its negative impacts on service delivery. Diagnosis is essential before planning any anti-corruption actions and actions must be monitored. Strategies must be adapted to each country.

In Honduras and Nicaragua, a wide range of organisations are involved in the delivery of water and sanitation services. The national government and its agencies have policy and regulatory roles. In some cases, in both countries they still operate water and sanitation services. Local governments are taking on more responsibilities for the operation of the systems, especially in Honduras. The private sector is also involved to varying degrees.

Non-governmental and community-based organisations (NGOs and CBOs) are particularly important and the media plays a role in publicising successes and failures. Citizens are key stakeholders and have rights to basic services and water. Their voice as consumers is vital if utilities are to be held accountable. In many situations, individuals play key roles by providing leadership in different contexts, lobbying bigger utilities and taking active roles in community-managed organisations.

A wide range of tools can be used to help promote access to information, transparency and accountability. Many of these tools can be used successfully only in specific circumstances and require their users to have specific skills or capacities. Often several different tools may need to be used by different stakeholders in water and sanitation for corruption to be tackled effectively.

There are four general strategic issues that offer a framework for improving transparency in urban governance: assessment and monitoring; access to information; ethics and integrity; and institutional reform.

Promoting assessment and monitoring requires understanding the types and scale of corruption and the degree of transparency in local governance, while creating a baseline against which progress in improving transparency can be measured.
Promoting access to information includes measures for improving stakeholders’ access to information so that they may participate in decision-making more effectively.
Promoting ethics and integrity clarifies what is expected from professionals and includes monitoring mechanisms to ensure they adhere to their commitments and are sanctioned if they break public trust.
Promoting institutional reforms includes streamlining and simplifying administrative procedures and structural innovations to promote participation and accountability.

Given the wide range of methods available, and the complexity of corruption and governance issues in water and sanitation, it is important to design anti-corruption strategies carefully.

Monitoring can be carried out using surveys, appraisals and report cards.
Access to information can be increased by holding meetings, passing laws guaranteeing access to information, using the media and promoting public participation.
Ethics and integrity can be promoted by developing conflict of interest laws, requirements for officials to disclose income and assets, codes of ethics, and integrity pacts.
Institutional reform can be developed by establishing complaints and ombudsman’s offices, independent anticorruption agencies, and the use of participatory budgeting.

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Source: Butterworth, J., O'Leary, D., and González de Asís, M., 2009, 'Tools for Addressing Corruption in the Water and Sanitation Sector', Module 3 in Gonzales de Asis, M., Ljung, P. and O'Leary, D., Improving Transparency, Integrity, and Accountability in Water Supply and Sanitation: Action, Learning, Experiences, World Bank, Washington D.C., pp 85-122.
Author: María González de Asís , Mgonzalezasis[at]worldbank.org
Organisation: World Bank, http://www.worldbank.org/