Theft and vandalism by external people

Assets and material of the organization are stolen, damaged or destroyed.

Risk type: Practice

Risk driver: External

DESCRIPTION

Theft and vandalism of assets and material by people outside the organization can have severe impacts on the performance of a water sector organization. Typical problems in low-income areas include vandalism and the theft of hardware (often carried out by informal water vendors fearing competition).¹ Vandalism can also be an indicator of low acceptance of the organization or a specific infrastructure project in a community, e.g. due to inadequate community involvement in decision making.

RED FLAGS

• Frequent instances of theft and vandalism
• Non-existent security measures, e.g. key administration, password protection, etc.

KEY GUIDING DOCUMENTS

GIZ, 2012, Good governance in the Kenyan water sector, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)

The Global Initiative Against Organized Crime, 2014, Water, water everywhere? Charting the growth of organized water theft, The Global Initiative Against Organized Crime, http://flarenetwork.org/learn/africa/article/charting_the_growth_of_water_theft.htm, accessed 15.10.2015

TARGETED EXAMPLES

Water company loses KES 200 million to thieves²

Target group: Utilities

Location: Mombasa, Kenya

A water company in Kenya has lost pipes and valves worth more than KES 200 million to vandals. The thieves are making a fortune by selling the pipes to unscrupulous scrap metal dealers. Last year the Mombasa Water Supply and Sanitation Company lost hundreds of pipes, valves, bolts, manhole covers and a large volume of water, all valued at KES 200 million. Managing director Alome Achayo said on Thursday that this year alone the vandals had struck 10 times, causing damage to infrastructure worth KES 10 million and water losses of KES 10 million. In the recent incidents, pipes covering six kilometres in the upmarket Nyali suburb had been stolen. The vandals also made away with pipes covering one kilometre along the Makupa Causeway.

Theft of UNICEF water rig^3,4

Target group: Utilities, NGOs

Location: Darfur, Sudan

Perhaps one of the best known incidents of water-related theft occurred in Sudan in 2008, when rebel factions in the country seized a UNICEF borehole drilling rig. The stolen rig was part of a project led by the State Water Corporation, with UNICEF support, and was critical to meeting the basic needs of hundreds of thousands of refugees in Darfur. The rig was thought to have been transported to Chad, and was never recovered.

FULL REFERENCES

1. GIZ, 2012, Good governance in the Kenyan water sector, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
2. Ringa, M., 2013, Water company loses Sh200m pipes to thieves, Daily Nation, http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Water-company-loses-Sh200m-pipes-to-thieves/-/1056/1700784/-/siasam/-/index.html%20,%202013, accessed 15.10.2015
3. The Global Initiative Against Organized Crime, 2014, Water, water everywhere? Charting the growth of organized water theft, The Global Initiative Against Organized Crime, http://flarenetwork.org/learn/africa/article/charting_the_growth_of_water_theft.htm, accessed 15.10.2015
4. UNICEF, 2008, UNICEF relieved at release of State Water Corporation drivers in Darfur, but repeats call for end to attacks, Press release, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), http://www.unicef.org/sudan/media_4590.html, accessed 15.10.2015