The World Water Week, currently taking place in Stockholm, has become a stage for policy discussions around corruption in the water industry as well. This issue has turned into a main concern in the sector, as pressure around water availability increases and corruption contributes to create inefficiencies in supply.
According to Håkan Tropp, director of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Water Governance Facility, the root of problems in access to water lies in unbalanced power relations, poverty and inequalities, which create an environment that is very prone to corruption.
Some organizations have developed interesting strategies to curb water corruption. This is the case of Water Integrity Network (WIN), which has developed tools to promote integrity in contracting procedures in the water industry. Another example is a Transparency International (TI) initiative in Kenya, where the organization has been involved in establishing an agreement between a public water supply and sanitation company and its customers, in order to facilitate complaint mechanisms.
For the full article on trust.org, please click here.
“
