A/68/264 successful regulation depends not only on standard-setting, but also on strong independent regulators. Currently, most agencies are underfunded and poorly trained, which demonstrates an urgent need for improvement. Regulators need to have the capacity, in terms of human resources, skills, funding and independence from interference, to monitor whether regulations are being complied with, carry out on-site inspections, and impose fines and penalties in the case of breaches. 3. Making institutions work in the public interest 53. Water and wastewater management is often entrusted to large and powerful “hydrocracies” 38 that are trained for, and have vested interests in, large infrastructure. Many administrations and funding agencies favour sewer networks and sewage treatment plants over more decentralized systems. Such preferences should be contrasted with the institutional framework for faecal sludge management: often there are no clear institutional responsibilities for wastewater management beyond sewerage networks. 39 This gap is exacerbated in informal settlements that lack legal land tenure, which, where sanitation facilities exist at all, tend to be served largely by septic tanks and pit latrines. Municipalities often deliberately avoid providing formal services in those areas because they fear legitimizing informal settlements. Legislative frameworks must assign institutional responsibilities for wastewater and, more specifically, faecal sludge management. The challenges in informal settlements are among the most urgent. As a short-term solution, non-governmental organizations have acted as intermediaries between municipalities and users to allow people to gain access to services before a more long-term solution is found. 54. In other instances, the institutional frameworks exist and assign responsibilities to municipalities, but they lack endowment with financial, technical and human resources. As such, delegation results in dispersal of effort and inaction. Therefore, institutional decentralization must be accompanied by necessary budgets and capacity. States must ensure that local authorities have the necessary financial, human and other resources to discharge their duties effectively. More broadly, institutional development and capacity-building are essential to ensure that laws and policies can be implemented and enforced. 55. Corruption is a significant challenge, whether in the context of large investments and contracts that are prone to benefit-reaping corrupt behaviour or in the context of small-scale entrepreneurs, for instance those emptying pits and tanks, where bribes have sometimes become commonplace. It is estimated that curbing corruption could lower investment requirements by 20-70 per cent. 40 Widespread corruption raises the question as to whether States are spending their maximum available resources on realizing human rights and using resources efficiently. Moreover, concerns arise about the affordability of services. Carefully designed subsidy schemes might lose their meaning when people have to pay additional bribes to gain access. The human rights framework contributes to preventing and __________________ 38 39 40 13-41825 F. Molle, P. P. Mollinga and P. Webster, “Hydraulic bureaucracies and the hydraulic mission: flows of water, flows of power”, pp. 328-349, Water Alternatives, 2 (2009) 3. A. Zimmer, “Everyday governance of the waste waterscapes. A Foucauldian analysis in Delhi’s informal settlements”, pp. 194 and 195 (Bonn, Universitäts-und Landesbibliothek, 2012). United Nations World Water Development Report (third edition), p. 70 (Paris, 2009). 15/23