Public Private Partnerships

Public Private Partnerships (PPP) seems to be somewhat common in both developed and developing for development projects including the sanitation projects. There is always a question mark on PPP, in terms of transparency.

World Bank is the major promoter of PPP. In Pakistan too, PPP is catching on.

A recent post (www.ipsnews.net/2017/11/beware-public-private-partnerships/) strike a note of caution on PPP. The post says: “They cost governments – and citizens – significantly more in the long run than if the projects had been directly financed with government borrowing.”

This is a key point; the post says: “Negotiations are subject to commercial confidentiality, making it hard for parliamentarians, let alone civil society, to scrutinize them. This lack of transparency significantly increases the likelihood of corruption and undermines democratic accountability.”

If the projects can be managed within the finances available in public sector, then perhaps there is no need for PPP. Sanitation projects in the rural areas of developing countries are not quite large, in terms of capital costs. They can be safely managed by the local government departments, without having to resort to PPP.

F H Mughal