The East African of 4th to 10th May 2024 carried good news where four East African Community members joined the Kenya and Uganda joint Standard Gauge Railway project to develop a modern railway line on the northern corridor. These countries are: Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. The project has been in works for some time but lack of funds has contributed to delays of the rollout of the project which has many benefits including easing the movement of people, goods and services across these countries and hence increasing the volume of intra African trade and supporting the ideals of African Continental Free Trade Area protocols. When the project is done, it makes these countries to operationalize a land and sea bridge between Kenya and Democratic Republic of Congo and other land locked countries and increases trade and development. It is worth noting that Kenya has developed the SGR from Mombasa to Naivasha. The option of Public Private Partnership (PPP) has also been under consideration since the project conceptualization began and was recently revived in 2023 by Kenya and Uganda. Funding of the project by major donors and financiers has been conditioned on a joint bid by these countries and hence it is a success that they have now joined in.
PPPs have many definitions and forms and depends on the country and region in which they are being used and the purposes for which they are employed. Over and above that, PPPs can be defined as forms of cooperation between public authorities and the world of business which aimed to ensure the funding, construction, renovation, management or maintenance of an infrastructure or the provision of a service. It is worth noting that PPPs have emerged in recent years as a powerful tool to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in some specific sectors, such as the development of infrastructure, renewable energies, water, housing and other development projects especially in developing countries. The use of PPPs has many advantages. First, it improves the ways in which infrastructure projects are prepared through detailed, consultative and comprehensive approaches to ensure fit for purpose projects. It improves the design, financing through alternative financing structures, mostly through private players. secondly, it leads to sharing of significant risks (time, costs, technology, land acquisitions, force majeures) which are sure to be present in such a project like the region SGR project.
Thirdly, the provision of alternative financing through private parties rather than through public sector accelerates infrastructure projects like regional SGR project development. Governments in the region have insufficient funds and are reeling in lots of public debt hence may slow the rollout of the regional SGR project but through PPPs, such funds can come from private parties locally and internationally. Fourthly, PPPs introduce greater project managerial prowess for success of projects through optimization of the three e’s of Economy, Efficiency and Effectiveness in projects, enhanced financial resource mobilization and fiscal discipline through the engagement of the private sector. Fifth, PPPs ensure that projects use the latest technology and innovation, while at the same time ensuring the whole life cycle concept that ensures that all the projects’ aspects are thought at the beginning and hence contractors have to ensure optimum standards that ensure longevity of the project through planning to handing over.
Sixth, PPP enhances actualization of minimal cost overruns, which have been a feature for such complex projects, and hence projects are completed ahead of schedule by an average of 3.4 percent, while public projects’ average completion time is 23.5 percent. The only issue is that for the success of the project, there is need to operationalize a well-structured PPP project where all stakeholders’ interests are aligned. Dr Giti is an urban management, public – private partnerships (PPP) and environment specialist. mutegigiti@gmail.com , @danielgiti
Dr. Daniel Mutegi Giti 