Decision-making power related to river basin management is still centralised and largely top-down, and river basin councils lack the necessary legal, planning, capacity, regulatory and financing powers to carry out their functions. Regional water programmes designed as a follow-up to the 2030 Water Agenda are a step in the right direction, but they are, at present, more infrastructure-driven project portfolios than effective basin plans as implemented in other OECD and non-OECD countries. This would help achieve convergence of public policies across the three levels of government, co-responsibility in decision making, transparency and consensus across all actors working toward the common goal of protection and sustainable use of water resources.