News stories
News items on corruption issues and measures to promote transparency, accountability and integrity in the water sector from IRC's newsletter Source Weekly.
Ghana: inadequate water hampers school feeding programme
08 Oct 09
Recent research conducted by SEND-Ghana shows that 45% of schools in sample districts under the Ghana School Feeding Programme (GSFP) do not have access to water. .
Jamaica: water commission loses US$ 11.4 million due to fraud
07 Oct 09
Jamaica’s National Water Commission (NWC) has lost over US$ 11.4 million in revenue in 2009 due to fraud and theft, a local newsaper reported.
Kenya: Nairobi water board sent packing following reports on malpractices
04 Aug 09
The entire board of the Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company was sent packing over alleged mismanagement on 8 July 2009. A full council meeting of the City Council of Nairobi made the move citing unfair water rationing and illegal connections that have seen millions of cubic litres of water lost.
Nepal: “illegal” water trading common practice in rural areas
19 May 09
Drinking water sources located on public lands are being purchased and sold illegally for millions of rupees after old sources have dried up.
India, Kerala: government crack down on illegal sand mining
19 May 09
The Kerala State government is planning to amend legislation so that it can impose more severe punitive measures against illegal sand-miners. Indiscriminate river sand mining has resulted in a sharp fall in groundwater tables and acute drinking water shortages in several parts of Kerala.
India: Supreme Court issues notices to address manual scavenging
12 May 09
The Supreme Court has sent notices to the Delhi government and to district magistrates in over 25 districts in the states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan about their failure to implement a central law against manual scavenging.
Transparency: companies must improve reporting on water sustainability
16 Mar 09
Companies need to significantly improve the depth and breadth of their reporting on water, particularly regarding water issues outside of direct business operations, according to a study commissioned by the United Nations Global Compact’s CEO Water Mandate.
Benin: corruption in water sector “enormous”
08 Mar 09
Access to safe water has been limited for more than half the population of Benin due to corruption, says the Ministry of Energy and Water. The less well-off consumers are paying the price for mismanagement in this multimillion-dollar sector.
Sri Lanka: SLWP and Water Integrity Network Partnership fight illicit sand mining
04 Mar 09
In 2008, the Sri Lanka Water Partnership (SLWP) and the Water Integrity Network (WIN) joined forces to fight illicit and unregulated river sand mining. They produced an integrated package of activities, including awareness programmes, brochures, posters, and a documentary.
Editorial, Daily Star, Bangladesh
27 Oct 08
It amuses us a great deal to see the improvisation - showing, in one case, the use of 122 labourers in fixing a single toilet pan, and in another, a similar number of labourers in another office of the BTCL Khulna division, employed for cleaning shrubs and sewerage line.
