Corruption in the Water Sector: Causes, Consequences and Potential Reform

Author: Dr. Patrik Stålgren

Year of publication: 2006

10 Key Points

• The global water crisis is primarily a crisis of governance, and corruption affects the governance of water by affecting who gets what water when, where and how.
• Corruption drains the water sector by misappropriating water management resources and hindering the attainment of the MDG targets for water supply and sanitation.
• The World Bank suggests that 20 % to 40 % of water sector finances are being lost to dishonest and corrupt practices.
• The costs of corruption are disproportionately borne by the poor and by the environment.
• Corruption increases transaction costs and discourages investments in infrastructure.
• Diagnostics are a key in fighting corruption because they reveal its extent, map its breadth and enable the targeting of anti-corruption measures and reform.
• At the household level, corruption is felt in deficient water service delivery and practices, contributing to the 40 billion working hours lost annually at a global scale.
• Corruption thus keeps children out of school, as they are instead being occupied by the time-consuming burden of collecting household water – a burden that traditionally falls largely on females.
• Anti-corruption measures exist; concerned actors can learn from experiences in other sectors, as well as from a few successful reforms already undertaken in some countries and some parts of the water sector.
• Anti-corruption measures must be comprehensive and long term. The PACTIV-approach – Political leadership, Accountability, Capacity, Transparency, Implementation, and Voice – is a good building block.

La Corrupción en el Sector del Agua: Causas, Consecuencias y Posible Reforma

Versión Español

Policy Brief_spanish.pdf  (1.07 MB)

Corruption in the Water Sector: Causes, Consequences and Potential Reform

English version

SWH_Policy_Brief_Water_Sector.pdf  (1.39 MB)