A new national coalition for water integrity was launched in Burkina Faso on July 19th, 2015. The coalition, Coalition Nationale pour la Promotion de L’Intégrité et du Dialogue Inter-acteurs dans le Secteur Eau et Assainissement au Burkina Faso, or CNIPDE-BF, is a group of stakeholders from the public, private and non-profit sectors, created to facilitate dialogue, advocate for water integrity and build capacities for action at all levels of the Burkinabe water sector.
Access to water in Burkina Faso is limited in many cases, especially in rural regions. Corruption, as it diverts funding to the sector, is recognized as one of the factors to blame for the situation.
The sector is particularly vulnerable to corruption for many reasons:
- There is a willingness to engage in petty corruption to ensure desperately needed service delivery.
- The sector is receiving funding and is the subject of several large-scale policy and investment programmes (PN-AEPA, PDSEA…).
- Several large infrastructure projects have been launched, increasing risks of grand corruption in procurement and construction processes.
- The decentralization process is putting responsibility for water projects in often less experienced and qualified hands, with little follow-up.
National stakeholders have been aware of these risks for many years and are actively working with WIN towards curbing its worst consequences through partnerships, training and communication activities (see some examples of action taken in Burkina Faso in our cases). The creation of the coalition is a culmination of this process.
The CNIPDE-BF is now planning a series of interventions to reinforce integrity in the water sector with a number of different partners. Stay tuned for more information!