How to Support African PPPs: The Role of the Enabling Environment^☆

Abstract

This article suggests that given the fulfilment of a number of preconditions Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) may be attractive instruments for countries in Africa seeking to improve the quality and competitiveness of their services base, particularly the so-called infrastructure services. This article builds, in addition to a selective review of the vast literature on PPPs, on first-hand practical experience on the ground and a number of pilot projects. This methodological approach provides a non-exhaustive PPP mapping in Africa, which in turn leads to a discussion of some of the challenges and risks to PPPs in Africa. It also covers a discussion of the recent trends in the approach to improving the enabling environment upon which are based a few policy recommendations, respectively: establishing an institutional framework for PPPs; designing a realistic and efficient strategy for enabling environment improvement; and finally moving from national-level initiatives to intergovernmental initiatives. This article takes the position that a series of pitfalls and shortcomings, many of which are associated with the enabling institutional environment and the governance framework, need to be addressed if PPPs are to deliver their full potential in Africa. It is believed that the national and intergovernmental PPP initiatives could lend significant support to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Africa. In addition to the reviewing and discussing primarily the most recent literature on PPPs, the main value addition of our chapter brings to the literature is derived from the presentation of recent PPP cases, which draw directly from the authors own practical experience on the ground.

Citation

Mourgues, T. and Kingombe, C. (2017), "How to Support African PPPs: The Role of the Enabling Environment^☆", Leitão, J., de Morais Sarmento, E. and Aleluia, J. (Ed.) The Emerald Handbook of Public–Private Partnerships in Developing and Emerging Economies, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 269-310. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78714-493-420171010