Corruption in Mexico´S Water and Sanitation Services

Informal evidence suggests that corruption in Mexico’s Water and Sanitation (W&S) services is affecting the whole sector by reducing its efficiency, sustainability and trust; yet no investigations have been undertaken to characterize the nature, scope and magnitude of the corrupt acts performed by stakeholders throughout the W&S provision value chain.

This work adds to the literature by examining corruption in Mexico’s W&S services at a national scale based on the analysis of Mexico’s W&S governance system, the perceptions and experiences of 617 consumers, and the valuation of 12 experts from academia, government, private companies and non-governmental organizations.

The study shows that the fragmentation in the roles and responsibilities for service provision; the asymmetries in decision-making over financing, planning and implementation; the lack of continuity of public policy at all levels; and the limited stakeholder engagement in W&S sector are all factors allowing corruption to happen in Mexico’s W&S services.

According to the proposed model to assess corruption in W&S services, evidence is found that unethical practices are experienced in the entire value chain, from policy making to performance evaluation. Relationships occurring in the Public-to-Private dimension are perceived as the most vulnerable to corruption; nevertheless, petty corruption involving consumers and junior staff is also a common practice in W&S service provision.

This investigation shows that corruption in W&S services has a negative impact in at least three levels: financial effects, effects on service quality and loss of trust in W&S agencies and the entire municipal system. According to the investigation, between 21 and 30 per cent of W&S sector finances are lost to corruption. This would imply losses of public and private investments in the range of $10,321 to $14,754 million pesos (412.80 to 590.10 million sterling pounds) per year. Additionally, more than one in five consumers have paid a bribe to access to W&S services. The most common form of corruption in W&S services in the Public-to-Consumer dimension is bribe for preferential treatment. The value of a bribe is usually $200 pesos (8 sterling pounds).

Despite these pervasive outcomes, citizens and governments stand ready to implement anti-corruption efforts. Strategies and tools to address corruption in W&S services related can be implemented in various levels but the ones related to human resources were identified as the most effectives, particularly the implementation of recruitment standards for key positions in W&S agencies