Accountability is an effective entry point to improving water governance. In most countries, there are set institutional arrangements for water service delivery. These include policies, institutions and plans, yet poor performance persists. To make these institutional arrangements successfully
operational, accountability is a key element, as it works on improving the quality of relationships between the different stakeholders in service delivery.
This is because accountability involves fighting the institutional inertia and striving for change, by ensuring that all parties involved are held accountable for their actions.
Accountability concerns the obligation of one actor to provide information and justify actions in response to another actor with the power to make
demands and apply sanctions for non-compliance.