“Ending corruption will not solve all the country’s water problems, but an effective campaign to wash corruption out of the water sector could create the environment in which larger water problems can be tackled. It could ensure that water security for all becomes, once again, the primary goal of the water sector. And, in doing this, the water sector could provide guidance and inspiration for the rest of the nation.” - From Money Down the Drain: Corruption in South Africa’s Water Sector (WIN and Corruption Watch, 2020) Some years ago, bringing up the topic of corruption or integrity with certain stakeholders could be met with awkward silences or closed doors. in 2020, WIN advocacy contributed to stirrings of change. Despite the pandemic in 2020, WIN worked in twelve countries, with regional bodies on three continents, and with a number of global level organisations. This annual report highlights key achievements and developments for water integrity for 2020. Download (pdf, EN)

INTEGRITY FOR ESSENTIAL SERVICES By 2050, nearly seven out of ten people in the world will live in urban areas and the number of people living in informal settlements is likely to double. In cities around the world, the water and sanitation situation is already dire: over a third of the urban population lives without adequate sanitation and threats from climate change are increasing. It’s essential. Cities need clean water and sanitation. And clean water and sanitation need integrity, for city residents, city resilience, and city reputation. Corruption in water and sanitation has a tremendous impact on the lives and well-being of city residents and on the reputation of cities and water and sanitation sector stakeholders. The issue may seem daunting but evidence from around the world shows that change is possible. And change is essential. Download summary (pdf, EN) (see more languages below) Download full report (pdf, EN) 3 PRIORITIES FOR ACTION PRACTICAL CASES FOR URBAN WASH STAKEHOLDERS Building on the Water Integrity Global Outlook (WIGO) 2016, WIGO 2021 brings together examples of how integrity champions -mayors, regulators, water and sanitation professionals, civil society, funders, the media- are building integrity in cities step by step, to improve water and sanitation services and leave no one behind. MORE DOWNLOADS Download the summary in Spanish (pdf, ES) Download the summary in French (pdf, FR) Download the summary in Swahili (pdf, SW) TAKE ACTION FOR INTEGRITY

Case study Published in 2021 By Celia Schmidt (cewas), Binayak Das (WIN), and Kazi Monir Mosharof (NGO Forum for Public Health) With support from cewas and NGO Forum Located in Bangladesh’s second-largest city, Chattogram (previously Chittagong), Chattogram Water and Sewerage Authority (CWASA) is one of the largest utilities in Bangladesh. CWASA launched an Integrity Management process using integrity management tools for utilities in 2018. Through the process, CWASA focused on improving customer complaint management systems and field inspections, with positive results. This case study describes CWASA's process and progress. Download (pdf, EN):

WATER SERVICE PROVIDERS FACING COVID19, INSOLVENCY, AND OTHER CHALLENGES By Dominique Schmachtel, SWIM (Solutions for Water Integrity and Management) Delayed or non-payment of water bills by public entities is widespread in developing countries, and has significant impact on the bottom line of water service providers. A 2020 survey by the Water Integrity Network (WIN), End Water Poverty, Solutions for Water Integrity and Management (SWIM) and other partners showed that 95% of the utilities investigated in 18 countries, mostly from the Global South, reported cases of non-payment by public institutions and that collection rates for public customers are consistently lower than for private customers. Access to water is a human right and yet, according to a 2019 UN analysis, 2.2 billion people worldwide do not have access to safely managed drinking water sources or are not connected to water networks, and 3 billion people even lack access to basic handwashing facilities. The situation is putting millions at even greater risk during the COVID-19 pandemic when it is paramount that services be delivered as effectively as possible. Water service providers are on the front lines. They must maintain adequate service and ensure that new measures mandated to face the pandemic are implemented effectively. They must do this while facing shortfalls in revenue collection due to the crisis and without compromising their ability to improve and increase service provision in the long-term. National and local governments must take action to ensure water is accessible to all and do so by supporting service providers to weather the crisis and ensure optimal service, for the long-term. The first steps are to prioritise the payment of public institutions’ outstanding water bills and to back up the promises made in response to COVID-19. Arrears from public customers jeopardise financial stability of water service providers and ability to respond to crisis The reasons for non-payment are varied but at least 10% of survey respondents claimed abuse of political power or undue interference are to blame. In a number of cases, the arrears represent a high proportion of the total revenue of water service providers. And, survey results show that the situation is worsening during the pandemic crisis as arrears are increasing. Two out of five surveyed water utilities suffer from increasingly delayed payments or a reduction of their bill collection ratio from public institutions. The missing money is urgently needed to provide adequate services and to ensure that the human rights to water and sanitation are realised. There are now reports of a growing number of water utilities facing financial distress in part because of these issues. In Ghana, for example, the Water Citizen Network, warned that the Ghana Water Company Limited “will not be able to sustain a regular supply of water or expansion to reach unserved communities if the debt situation of the company is not resolved“. Financial stress is compounded by lower collection rates and increased losses due to the crisis In addition to delays and missing payments from public institutions, many service providers are also suffering financially from losses and a decrease in water demand and associated revenues. Otherwise reliably paying customers with high consumption rates, such as industry or the hospitality sector, have been hit hard by the crisis. Many private customers, who had paid their bills may also be struggling to cover costs as they are confronted with the effects of the pandemic. As reported by the World Bank, the Uganda National Water and Sewerage Corporation for example “only collected 39% of the revenue expected between February and June 2020“. This is leading to a general decrease in the collection efficiency of payments and is putting a serious strain on the operations of many water utilities. A Zambian water service provider shared insight on collection efficiency for our survey and research, showing a notable decrease since the beginning of 2020, with collection rates now far below the sector benchmark. These issues are major concerns for utilities worldwide, and not only on the short-term. In the United States, for example, it is unclear for many how accumulated debt will be paid and what the impact of the crisis will be on collection and delinquency rates when emergency measures expire. Measures to respond to COVID-19 provide relief, but they must be effectively funded and sustainable Measures are being taken by governments to support water users and to provide water and relief for people during the crisis. Various governments have pledged to make water free or cheaper, put a moratorium on disconnections, and reduced or waived fees and extra costs. Governments are also, in some cases, already supporting utilities with additional financing and other measures to improve monitoring and coordination , all in an effort to maintain continuity of service. These are necessary and important steps forward that highlight the crucial importance of the water and sanitation sector in times of crisis. The issues are whether, in practice, these measures are adequately funded and what their impact will be on the long-term. From our research, a Kenyan utility worker reported that: “Free water supply to hand-washing points and informal settlements“ was mandated by government to fight against COVID. But to pay for these additional services, water service providers still need to maintain sufficient income. Another Kenyan utility worker added that “the Government announced there would be no disconnections for non-payment of water bills, yet no subsidies have been provided”. Overall, the inability for water service providers to avoid losses in revenue in combination with non-payment from public entities and accumulated arrears increase the risk of severe financial stress and bankruptcy. Immediate as well as long-term actions must be taken to protect and sustain water and sanitation services that are indispensable to overcoming the pandemic. Two streams of action are required: Governments must support utilities, backing up their promises for COVID-19 relief with adequate subsidies that fit in to a longer-term strategy towards the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation To ensure a sustainable financial basis for utilities, measures must be taken by governments to ensure that all public entities, at every level, pay their bills to water service providers in full and on time. Without these actions, any progress to provide water and sanitation to all is being put at risk by the very governments that claim commitment to this target.

Non-payment and empty promises are undermining the human rights to water and sanitation Research and policy brief Published in 2020 Developed with End Water Poverty, SWIM (Solutions for Water Integrity and Management) with support from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Access to safe water and sanitation are human rights. To serve everyone and realise these rights, water and sanitation service providers must be able to operate and stay financially viable. However, there is evidence to show that many public institutions do not pay the water bills they receive, or with crippling delays. This is a problem for service providers who count on this revenue. When governments don’t pay, people do. The burden shifts to those who face increased tariffs and those who are left with poor or no service, who pay with their health, time, and productivity. Download the policy brief (pdf, EN) Summary: Research factsheet:

Published in 2020 Lack of integrity and corruption in the water and sanitation sector affect who gets what services, when, where, and how. They impact negatively on the delivery of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 6, on sustainable economic development, human health and well-being, and reduce the effective use of limited financial, human and water resources. The costs are disproportionately borne by the poor and by the environment. Only a well-functioning and corruption-free water sector will be able to overcome the enormous challenge of reaching universal access to water and sanitation services by 2030. Further, corruption in the water sector affects the ability to meet many of the other SDGs. 2019 heralded the arrival of a new Executive Director at WIN, the appointment of new staff members, and the reinvigoration of a collaborative culture within the diverse and enthusiastic team in Berlin. The year saw the expansion of work in Latin America and Kenya, the revitalisation of work in Benin, the deepening of work in Bangladesh, the development of a new assessment tool for water utilities, and the conceptualisation of a corruption risk index for cities. It also saw the completion of the Multi-Country Water Integrity Programme (MCWIP) funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). We and our partners worked on public finance management (Kenya), school sanitation (Bangladesh), water utility governance (Latin America, Kenya and Benin). We expanded our strategic partnerships, including through signing a Memorandum of Understanding with the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW). Download full annual report:

A NOVEL METHOD TO MEASURE CORRUPTION IN URBAN WATER AND SANITATION Is corruption a real threat for water and sanitation services in our city? Is the situation improving or getting worse? How does our city compare with others? Can we even do something about it, and how do we start? These questions are often asked but are actually difficult to answer with objective and reliable evidence. Corruption is a concealed act by definition. It doesn’t easily lend itself to measurement. It’s nonetheless costly and dangerous, as it skews planning, diverts resources, and protects incompetence. In the water sector, corruption can be deadly. CAN YOU IMPROVE WHAT YOU CAN’T MEASURE? Existing measures of corruption tend to focus on country-level reports of perception of corruption, provided by sources such as the Political Risk Service, International Country Risk Guide, and Transparency International’s Global Corruption Index. These are important tools to raise awareness and guide research but they are less useful when trying to examine and improve integrity in a given sector. To ensure sustainable and resilient water and sanitation services across cities, local governments and sector decision-makers need a better understanding of the corruption risks that undermine their efforts. They need reliable measures that can guide practical action. We couldn’t find this, so we’re building it. LEVERAGING INCREASING DATA AVAILABILITY AND ADVANCES IN ANALYTICS TO DEVELOP NEW MEASURES FOR INTEGRITY Big Data and advances in analytics are making new kinds of measurements of corruption and integrity risks possible. WIN is collaborating with the Government Transparency Institute to take advantage of these innovations and develop a Water and Sanitation Sector Integrity Risk Index (WIRI) for urban areas. The Government Transparency Institute has a proven track record in applying innovative quantitative and qualitative methods to researching and advocating good governance. They recently won the IMF Anti-corruption Challenge with an intelligence tool which uses big data to spot corruption risks in public procurement processes. WIRI partly draws on the methodology applied in this award–winning project. WIRI is a composite index, which is constructed by applying Big Data analytics to administrative data and survey datasets. WIRI offers insight across the three main integrity hotspots in the water and sanitation sectors: Public investment projects Recurrent spending supporting ongoing operations Client-utility interactions In developing WIRI, we benefitted from continuous feedback from an advisory panel of experts, including Cetina Camilo (CAF – Development Bank of Latin America), John Dini (South African Water Research Commission), Kasenga Hara (ESAWAS), Ricard Gine (SIWI), Sanjeev Narrainen (GCF), and Vincent Lazatin (CoST). Our new working paper explains the building blocks of the Water Integrity Risk Index and presents results for selected cities. Download working paper (pdf, EN) First results are very promising. The working paper shows that corruption risks in a particular city tend to change over time. WIRI enables us to capture even small variations in risk levels, thanks to the precision achieved by measuring corruption at the transaction level (such as contracts, customer interactions, etc.). In contrast, the measures of corruption perception widely employed in other indices tend to be persistent over time. The results in the working paper also show that corruption risks can differ significantly across different cities within the same country. This makes us cautiously optimistic about the prospects of selectively preventing corruption at the local level through carefully designed interventions. AN ACTIONABLE INDEX FOCUSING ON SECTOR-SPECIFIC CORRUPTION RISKS What makes WIRI a useful tool? Firstly, we have aimed to capture a comprehensive list of sector-specific corruption risks. Moreover, unlike other existing measures of corruption that predominantly focus on perceptions, WIRI relies on direct measurement of corruption risks. Finally, WIRI results are comparable across time and space, which enables policy-makers to track progress and benchmark different cities. These properties of WIRI make it a useful tool for: monitoring, auditing, and investigations of corruption risks; informing sector-wide policy decisions, for example on regulation and oversight; and supporting civil society and other stakeholders to hold governments accountable and advocate for better services BUILDING INTEGRITY IN CITIES: WIRI FOR YOUR CITY? In 2021, we aim to support a number of cities in applying WIRI. The aim is to support decision-makers get insight on how to improve integrity in the water sector and enable better service provision. We’re always seeking out new partnerships. Want to know more? Interested in applying WIRI in your city? Download (pdf, EN)

RESEARCH FROM SOUTH AFRICA AND KENYA STRESSES NEED FOR ACTION TO DELIVER ADEQUATE WATER AND SANITATION IN URBAN SLUMS Research Published in 2020 with SERI By Virginia Roaf, Alana Potter, Irene Ngunjiri, and Barbara Schreiner Suggested citation: Roaf, V; Potter, A; Ngunjiri, I; Schreiner, B (2020), Human Rights and Water Integrity: Implications for Informal Settlements Water and Sanitation. SERI and Water Integrity Network Despite clear international law on the human rights to water and sanitation, and widespread recognition of these rights, people living in informal settlements (slums) typically lack access to essential services. They pay more per litre for precarious, potentially unsafe water than residents in wealthier areas, and have limited access to toilets; relying on shared latrines, self-dug pits or overflowing chemical latrines. Lack of integrity and corruption contribute to the failure to deliver services, reinforcing existing inequalities in access to water and sanitation, diverting resources from where they are most needed, and reducing the quality and availability of services. A new paper from the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI) and the international Water Integrity Network (WIN) discusses these issues based on research conducted by SERI in Siyanda, Marikana and Ratanang, three informal settlements in South Africa, and by partners in Mukuru, an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. The paper shows how an integrity focus can help to achieve human rights obligations and how a human rights focus improves integrity and reduces opportunities for corruption. Download full report (pdf, EN) Download summary (pdf, EN)

Research and advocacy Published in 2020 Developed with ASAN, Cantaro Azul, Controla Tu Gobierno, and Oxfam Mexico An analysis of the Mexican legal framework for water in different states and the legal form that community systems could take if they were taken into account by state laws. Download (pdf, ES):

CORRUPTION AND POOR INTEGRITY CAN BE A BIG DRAIN ON RESOURCES, REPUTATION, AND EFFECTIVENESS OF KEY WATER SECTOR PLAYERS; UTILITIES IN PARTICULAR By Jason Kirkpatrick, Water Integrity Network. Even organized with support from cewas. Water utilities do not often feel they have enough practical guidance to deal with the integrity and corruption issues they actually face in their daily business. This is the case despite the high-level policies in place to tackle the challenges of corruption and poor integrity. What do you do to make sure integrity risks don’t drag you down? What do you do when funds disappear or when vehicles and company resources are being used abusively for private purposes? Integrity Management in the water sector is a change management approach to prevent and reduce unnecessary losses from corruption and to develop preventive measures to strengthen procurement, human resources, accounting, O&M and other work processes. The Integrity Management Toolbox was developed to support such an integrity management process and transform challenges into opportunities. To date, the Toolbox has been used to support different organizations in over 20 countries, including large utilities in Bangladesh, Kenya, Albania, Ecuador, and Honduras. WIN and cewas organized a webinar on the Integrity Management Toolbox on March 18, 2020 to discuss the Integrity Management methodology and share experiences from previous applications of the Integrity Management Toolbox. Here’s what we learned. Assessing and tackling corruption and integrity risks in water utilities: the integrity management process Erion Likaj of KfW Albania, a former Integrity Management (IM) coach for utilities and panellist at our webinar, explained that better revenues can be a positive result of good planning and discussed how the Toolbox has been used to support planning, to develop better performance targets, and to link these to investments. Sareen Malik of ANEW, a former IM coach in Kenya, discussed the way institutions are increasingly seeing the water crisis as a governance crisis, not a technical one. Many see the need for a new approach even if they may at first fear digging into the corruption angle. Panellists agreed there is real value in being prepared and having a good understanding of risks. Integrity management can ensure corruption problems are detected early and contained, without the need for external or costly interventions. Lessons learned: what is needed to launch integrity management processes? An enabling environment must be created if it doesn’t exist. Utilities must see the alignment of operational processes to integrity values as beneficial for the organisation’s performance. There needs to be willingness at mid- or senior management level. Lenders can require utilities to have performance targets before investment is activated. This has been the case in Albania for example. There can be significant socio-cultural barriers preventing adoption of integrity management; the integrity toolbox may not automatically be well received. Communication is key for avoiding misunderstandings that could potentially damage the process. In Kenya, for example, utilities willing to address integrity issues pulled out at last minute of the process with WIN, for fear they might be accused of having corruption problems in the first place. Context-adapted communication could have pre-empted such issues. Lessons learned: assessing integrity risks and choosing the right tools to address them Each specific context will require a different risk assessment (looking at what regulations are in place, what institutions, etc.). It’s partly why cookie-cutter approaches will generally be less effective. Encouraging behaviour founded on integrity principles can be done through rewards. There needs to be a structured process for addressing emerging issues. It’s key to be clear about who is doing what, and when. If corrupt activities are protected and propagated at top management level, it will be of little use to address integrity issues from within the organization itself. Instead, different strategies would have to be adopted: supervisory boards or administrative councils can be very influential and steer an organization towards integrity. Third parties addressing integrity or external oversight mechanisms can also influence an organization. Follow the full webinar:

By Kei Namba This blog is based on our partners’ work and responses at the webinar “Integrity Readiness of Water Sector for Climate Change Finance – Challenges and Opportunities”, organized by GIZ on August 28th, in partnership with Green Climate Fund Independent Integrity Unit (GCG-IIU) , Central American Bank of Economic Integration (CABEI), and WIN. Thank you to all partners and participants! See recording: Water plays a pivotal role in how the world mitigates and adapts to climate change impacts . Extreme weather such as floods, droughts, and heatwaves caused by climate change not only affect water availability and quality but also hinder access to safe drinking water, especially for the most in need . For these reasons, global climate finance increasingly flows towards the water sector, especially for climate adaptation processes. As all major financing flows however, climate finance to the sector is vulnerable to corruption. The relatively untested nature of funding sources for climate finance, the increment in the number of interested parties (e.g. energy and agricultural sectors), as well as the rise of multilateral climate finance and the emphasis on mobilization of the private sector boost the potential for corruption. 0% corruption, 100% climate action Water infrastructure development for climate adaptation is prone to corruption, bribery, and nepotism, especially at the procurement stage. Without integrity and strong governance standards, climate finance can be diverted from vital prevention and adaptation activities into private bank accounts and vanity projects, often leading to catastrophic effects for vulnerable countries. In response, there is a need to promote integrity readiness of the water sector for climate finance, by building capacity of all relevant actors and raising awareness of red flags for corruption throughout the project lifecycle. “Integrity readiness is highly important to ensure that these funds are adequately used to safeguard vulnerable communities; who may be affected the most from the consequences of lack of integrity in climate adaptation processes. The water sector already has complex fragmented institutional arrangements. With added complexity comes added risk. That is why integrity readiness within institutions absorbing climate funds and among stakeholders at an early stage is important. We need to prepare for the changing architecture of the water sector.” – Binayak Das, Programme Coordinator at WIN The aim is to ensure corruption cannot compromise effective climate action . Integrity readiness – building block 1: preventive action and capacity building Green Climate Fund (GCF) is an operating entity of the Financial Mechanisms of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. It provides the largest amount of funding to water-related projects in climate finance, approximately 13% of its portfolio. The GCF Independent Integrity Unit (IIU) registered 40 cases of integrity violations in its 2019 Annual Report . These included project-related fraud, corruption and collusion; staff misconduct such as abuse, harassment, conflict of interests and retaliation against whistle-blowers; and others. The cases marked a 90% upsurge in the number of investigations by the IIU, in comparison to those of the previous year. The trend is of concern and confirms that increased funding may lead to increased risk. Preventing and managing these risks is essential, an approach GCF-IIU is working actively exploring, in addition to implementing strict policies and a strong control framework. “We are developing and institutionalizing strong preventative measures as well as investing in capacity building to address risks. The most crucial future development is Proactive Integrity Reviews (PIRs) methodology based on a data-driven integrity risk assessment. We think that descriptive data analytics would help to understand what it is going on from the integrity perspective.” – Ibrahim Pam, Head of the Independent Integrity Unit, Green Climate Fund. There are a number of other tools and methods to address integrity risks, from both the water sector and the climate sector, that can be applied and adapted for water-related projects for climate finance. The Integrity Management Toolbox , is one such water sector tool that is adaptable and has already been used by water sector government agencies and river basin organisations. Integrity readiness – building block 2: involving local communities and civil society In the water sector specifically, corruption directly affects the most vulnerable. From project selection to implementation, there is also a high risk that vulnerable communities and those most directly touched by an intervention are not able to participate. It is crucial to safeguard and include local communities and civil society at all levels and stages. “Understanding what the local population are seeking from a project and bringing people’s voices is one of the biggest challenges, but it is fundamental. In most of my experiences, there are conflicts of interest with the private sector. It is important to have close auditing and monitoring with due diligence. We must also have the conversation with the beneficiaries of climate finance, not just follow the procedures. – Rennie Valladares Alcerro, Country Analyst at CABEI Integrity readiness – building block 3: building partnerships In addition to promoting the participation of vulnerable communities and civil society, we need more knowledge-based partnerships to collect data and information, to increase transparency and jointly curb corruption in water-related projects for climate finance. “We need to work in partnerships and coalition. It is also key to keep the media involved. If you are looking for solutions and measures, it is necessary to think about what we can do to improve together, instead of just pointing out that corruption is happening.” – Binayak Das, WIN Programme Coordinator Key takeaways 0% corruption, 100% climate action and commitment A data-driven approach, as well as strong preventative measures and capacity to address risks is important. Zero tolerance, honesty, and professionalism must be core values. Working with beneficiaries and in partnerships is key About the author: Kei Namba is an independent consultant, specializing in water governance, climate, and environmental politics. She has been working with WIN on several projects including water integrity and climate finance, Water Integrity Global Outlook (WIGO 2021), building strategies for Asia-Pacific, and promoting WIN’s tools .

Research brief by Diana Suhardiman Published in 2018 with IWMI What are the dynamics of rent-seeking practices in the Indonesian irrigation sector, and what can be learnt from community-based development initiatives, such as irrigation management transfer? Download (pdf, EN)