Improving governance in the water sector to social accountability, communication and transparency : processes, experiences and lessons using the community score card in Uganda : paper presented at the IRC symposium ‘ Pumps, Pipes and Promises: Costs, Fina

In june 2008, Network for Water and Sanitation Uganda (NETWAS) with support from the World Bank Institute and in partnership with the Ministry of Water and Environment, Bukalasa Agricultural college which supplies the college and neighbouring homesteads with piped water; Wobulenzi Town Council which signed a contract with Trandit Limited a private company that supplies Wobulenzi core urban and a few peri urban wards has been implementing a governance project. The aim of this project was to promote better governance in the water sector in Uganda by fostering transparency, social accountability and efficient communication activities. The specific objectives of this programme were to : nelp local stakeholders understand and apply social accountability, communication and transparency concepts and mechanisms to improve governance in water service provision; support local stakeholders in designing and implementing effective communication mechanisms to promote a permanent, sustainable and constructive way of providing feedback from users to providers as well as informing users about service provision; help institutionalize these processes within the Ministry of Water and Environment and the Directorate for Water Development; train district-level community members in social accountability concepts and practices for the long-term sustainability of social accountability initiatives. Two social accountability tools known as the Citizen’s Report Card (CRC) and the Community Score Card (CSC) have been used.  A communication strategy was also developed to ensure better information flow between users and providers and other key stakeholders. This project engaged communities within the Town Council to work in partnership with the service providers to improve the quality of water service delivery. After two years of implementation what is clear is that social accountability works in improving water provision and improving relations among stakeholders.  The outcomes of the project are discussed while changes in three dimensions (social accountability, communication, transparency) are analysed in detail. [authors abstract]