3. Some lessons learned

Despite the current lack of knowledge specifically relevant to the water sector there have been some important findings and some pointers to where additional work might be focussed to best effect. There are indications for example that the participation of women is generally beneficial in curbing corruption.

At the same time it is seen that participatory approaches overall have not been sufficiently developed, either in use of established participatory tools or in full involvement of relevant stakeholder groups in planning and implementation of water service projects. There is a danger that data collection can become, intentionally or otherwise, an end in itself, rather than forming the basis for true participation.

When participatory action against corruption is lacking the poor suffer most, highlighting the need to focus on the poorest groups in the community. Where that has been done the benefits have flowed, as indicated by some examples in this section of the TOP

Also discussed here are the positives and negatives arising from the moves towards decentralisation and privatisation that have been widely seen in recent years. While aimed to some extent at more transparency and less corruption that has not always been the result.

One lesson here is that decentralisation is unlikely to curb corruption where adequate institutional capacity and transparent management systems are not in place at the local level. Local officials dealing with community groups can themselves be dishonest and the part that these groups play in decentralised systems needs to be better defined.

Privatisation has had successes and failures but, while the public/private debate continues, the more important objective in relation to corruption is to develop institutional systems that encourage transparent and honest practice on a sustainable basis, whether they be public or private.

More work is called for too on the longer term, underlying effects of corruption on water service provision. Dishonesty that leads to piecemeal or incorrectly directed construction, or infrastructure that is badly designed or built, can be the basis for system redundancies, repeated equipment failures and continuing maintenance problems, ultimately rendering a project useless.

In many of these findings the water sector owes much to the work of Transparency International (TI), a civil society organization founded in 1993 with the declared aim of leading the global fight against corruption. Now a partner in 85 national and regional anti-corruption groupings TI has also exerted a major influence on the development of appropriate policies and programmes in the World Bank, OECD, UNDP and other major international institutions.