Improved 'governance' is, these days, on the minds of most people in the international development community. Technically, this term just means 'manner, or form, of governing', and there is no doubt that we would all like to be governed better. In less diplomatic language, it often refers to a reduction of corruption among public officials, and this too is an objective to which most of us can subscribe.

Where water supply issues are concerned, this means mainly that consumers would probably be better off, in terms of available facilities and services, if the fraction of available funds ending up in the bank accounts of civil servants was minimized.

To maintain a balanced view of this issue it is, however, necessary to remember that 'corruption' is an item seen differently in different cultural contexts. The provision of certain services for a 'fee' is a practice so deeply engrained in some countries and regions that, when salaries are set for public service employees it is simply anticipated they will be part of a 'package' that includes fees collected the public.

There is of course much more to 'good governance' than this. Water authorities everywhere need to take responsibility for good data collection, planning, and information systems. Better policies for the management of both water supply and wate water recycling need to be developed, with major participation from the consuming public. Allocation processes must be fair and transparent, and once regulations have been puvlished they must be energetically enforced.