Description

Accountability is one of the 11 standards that Oxfam is expected to meet in its development work. It is the process through which an organisation balances the needs of stakeholders in its decision-making and activities, and delivers against this commitment. One of the three projects randomly selected for an Accountability Review this year was SWIFT, a three-and-a-half year WASH project supported by DFID. The project is being implemented in Turkana County, Kenya and addresses some of the water and sanitation issues in the region, which has been experiencing droughts and serious food shortages for the past decade. Employing a participatory methodology, a total of 94 individuals took part in this assessment: Oxfam staff, partner staff (LOWASCO, KAWASEPRO, the Water Department and county government), and community members from Kakuma, Chokchok and Nasechabuin. The review process utilised document review, key informant interviews, two workshops and focus group discussions to understand and capture insights about accountability.