admin
Rumbidzayi Zinyuke, Senior Reporter
EXPERTS attending the SADC Industrialisation Week in Harare have underscored the critical role of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in accelerating Africa’s infrastructure development.
With the continent grappling with a significant infrastructure deficit, industrialists emphasised the need for collaboration between Governments and private sector entities to bridge this gap.
Speaking during a panel discussion on promoting PPP investment in key strategic sectors, Dr Gori Daniel, the managing partner of Africa PPP Advisory Services (Ltd), said there had been a shift in focus by countries towards African direct investment as a way of driving infrastructure renewal adding that this was an important step forward.
“The whole thesis of this push for an infrastructure investment is that infrastructure translates to improved economic growth.
“By providing connectivity, we are reducing input costs associated with doing business in the region. But, you know, this only makes sense or this really translates to results if there’s that beneficiation that is captured regionally. The idea of public-private partnerships is the fact that it’s one key mechanism for raising private capital. And that is not new.
“It also has a real impact, particularly when done well in tackling issues that are dear to SADC, in terms of ensuring sustainable jobs, inclusive economic growth and reduction of poverty. These are key things that are empirically sound,” he said.
Dr Daniel said private sector investment in infrastructure in Africa was still low and there was a need for it to increase ten-fold if it was to make a meaningful impact in reducing the infrastructure deficit.
He said meaningful collaboration between the private and the public sector entailed long-term contracts where there was significant risk transfer to the private sector but where the ownership of the infrastructure remained with the public sector.
Arise –IP chief financial officer Mr George Olaka said it was important for private sector investment to gel with the priorities of the country to ensure sustainability.
“The main need for the country might not be infrastructure, it might not be the road, it might not be the airport, it might not be all these fancy things that we look at. But the basic needs of countries in Africa is employment creation.
“The basic need is transformation of the wealth that they have, whether it is commodity or whether it is human capital. So, I think if we refocus on how we look at PPPs and look at it not as a means of enriching a few, but as a means of enabling the many, then I think the concept of how PPPs have happened will change,” he said.
“And again, PPPs should be looked at as not a giveaway from the government to the private sector, but the private sector also needs to come in and bring about sustainability.
“Because building a road does not really bring about sustainability in the long run. PPPs need to be looked at as enabling the local population to transform and to become a better society, with or without the frustration that it brings about.”
The SADC Industrialisation Week is running under the theme, “Promoting innovation to unlock opportunities for sustainable economic growth and development towards an Industrialised SADC”.
It is the precursor to the 44th SADC Heads of State and Government Summit to be held on August 17, where President Mnangagwa will assume chairmanship of the regional bloc.
Online Reporter