The World Bank is appraising a new proposed project in Honduras, involving US$ 20 million IDA loan with US$ 10 million local financing. The proposed operation would be structured as a Sector Wide Approach (SWAp). Its objectives are: (i) to improve the efficiency and reliability of Honduras’ water supply and sanitation (WSS) services by implementing the Strategic Plan to Modernize the WSS Sector (PEMAPS), which decentralizes service provision to autonomous operators and rearranges the distribution of certain governance functions to relatively new sector institutions; and (ii) to develop and demonstrate replicable models of successful and sustainable provision of WSS services, by supporting selected municipal service providers in increasing their capacity to improve the quality, access, governance, accountability to consumers and management as part of the poverty reduction development objectives.

The ultimate goal would be to promote a change in attitude and behaviour of both the consumers and the providers so that they engage in participatory processes towards better governance, transparency and accountability in the water sector. This set of activities would include a communication programme, awareness and education campaigns, public hearings, citizen report cards, among other proven mechanisms for promoting social accountability and building trust between government and civil society organisations.
Source: World Bank, 3 Apr 2007

Tags: governance