Analyzing the role of the media in fighting corruption in urban water supply in Accra-Tema Metropolitan Area (Atma), Ghana

The provision of clean water for the urban population in developing countries is becoming both scarce and expensive largely because of rapid urbanisation and poor urban water management; including the lack of transparency and accountability and rising corruption. Ghana’s capital city, Accra, is facing such challenges in the urban water sector. Confronting the problem of corruption and ensuring transparency and account-ability in the water sector requires a number of actors: first, an effective public sector; second, a dynamic private sector; and finally, an engaged civil society including an independent, robust and sustainable media to raise public awareness about water sector corruption, causes, effects and solutions. Based on the review of relevant literature and content analysis of newspapers, this paper demonstrates how constant exposure to news media can help change people’s perception of specific issues, such as a corruption engendered national conversation to cause specific change in policy and promote transparency and accountability. The paper further argues that the effectiveness of the media in promoting transparency, accountability and fighting corruption in Ghana depends on a number of factors: first, the news media mostly lacks the capacity to tell the story of corruption in a compelling way to get the attention of the public; and second, ownership of the media limits the media’s ability to remain independent in telling the story of corruption. In other cases, journalists lack the necessary training and skill to report on corruption.