A framework for tackling corruption in the water and sanitation sector in Africa

For the past three decades a substantial number of governments, donors and NGOs have focused efforts on a range of institutional, financial, technical and social interventions aimed at bringing about much-needed improvements in the delivery of water and sanitation services in rural and urban areas of Africa. Largely absent from these efforts has been a serious attempt to tackle the corruption that occurs in a wide range of sector transactions. The purpose of this paper is to promote more comprehensive understanding of sector corruption and potential anti-corruption mechanisms among a broad audience of WSS stakeholders. The paper describes the plural nature of corruption in water and sanitation by setting out in a structured framework the network of corrupt practices prevalent in the sector. Emphasising the need for better diagnostics, the paper cautiously suggests that the most promising models for anti-corruption sector reform in the African continent appear to lie in the development of greater transparency and accountability mechanisms – supported by ongoing efforts in WSS sector reform.