The heart of water corruption is as much a complex system of pipes and sewers as any major metropolitan city. The rivers of profiting, deceit, and bribes run deep into many countries, especially developing Third World nations.
In 2002, South Africa found out that the corruption facing the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP). The Times, London, reported that Acres Int., one of 14 Western companies, was convicted of bribing Masupha Ephraim Sole, former chief executive of LHWP, to receive $8 billion in contracts. Both the companies and Sole were punished, but the extent of the bribery is still unknown. It was thought the corruption was the fault of Third World governments, but after the dust settled many realized that Western companies were equally guilty of corruption.
Fortunately, global attention is being brought to the public eye by the Transparency International (TI). The 2008 corruption report from TI, "Global Corruption Report 2008: Corruption in the Water Sector," is on corruption in the water sector and how it can be prevented and combated.
According to the report, over one billion people live with inadequate access to safe drinking water with dramatic consequences for lives, livelihoods and development. Many of these people have to deal with water sources that are polluted due to many regulators taking bribes and overlooking pollution of public water sources.
One place that the TI report shows corruption in public drinking water is China. On the issue of Chinese factories polluting the report states, "Although China has more than 1200 anti-trust laws, bribery, kickbacks and theft account for 10 percent of government spending and transactions." The amount of anti-trust laws could go up tenfold, but without proper oversight it would not make a dent.
Wealthy nations have their share of problems too with bottling companies running hugely successful ad campaigns to promote "spring" and "mineral" water while deeming that tap water is unsafe. The Natural Resource Defense Counsel (NRDC) published a controversial report stating that 22 percent of all bottled water tested had chemical contaminates in them, and that the average bottling company is wasting three times the amount of water it is producing.
Whether water is being used for huge corporate profits or taken from underground sources faster then can be sustained by nature, one thing is for sure, we need water and a lot of it. Overuse and overpopulation contribute immensely to this problem and by 2025 over 3 billion will be without adequate water sources. In the coming years, it is only obvious, the world should be weary of wars started for water as much as wars started for oil.
Citations
1. "Global report on corruption in water sector launched." Jordan Times (Amman, Jordan) (June 27, 2008).
2. "Net closes on Western corruption in Africa." The Times (London, England) (Oct 28, 2002).
3. Global Corruption Report 2008: Corruption in the Water Sector. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008.
4. "IS BOTTLED WATER BETTER?. ." Environment. 43.4 (May 2001): 4. InfoTrac Environmental Studies & Policy Collection.