Give counties technical support in PPPs
Kakamega County Governor Wycliffe Oparanya (left) and HF Group's managing director, Mr Frank Ireri (right), during the signing of the public-private partnership in the past. There are a myriad other factors that curtail the potential of counties to fully exploit PPPs. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
There is a glaring disparity of PPP expertise between the national government and counties.
The Treasury has a key role to play in ensuring that counties get the requisite skills, knowledge and expertise in initiating and running PPPs.
It should also enlighten counties on the legal framework and the required expertise.
Public-Private Partnership is extensively touted as a viable alternative source of capital investment for infrastructural projects. PPPs have significant transformative potential nationally and within the devolved governance.
Uptake and successful conceptualisation and implementation of PPP projects is, however, dependent on the level of knowledge, expertise and technical know-how of the contracting authority, which counties are.
LOW UPTAKE
Unfortunately, going by the statistics provided by the Public Private Partnership Unit (PPPU) at the National Treasury, counties seem to be groping in the dark as far as this financing model is concerned, even though the term ‘PPP’ is a constant terminology in their respective County Integrated Development Plans (CIDPs).
There is a glaring disparity of PPP expertise between the national government and counties. The irony of low uptake has triggered policymakers to wrongly think that the solution lies in amending the Public Private Partnership Act 2014, hence its proposed amendment.
LEGAL FRAMEWORK
The Act may not be friendly to the counties; however, the main thrust is not lack of a facilitative legal framework but dearth of software in terms of technical knowhow. Aiming to put counties at par with the national government through a list of PPP projects to be approved by the PPP Unit and the Cabinet is not the solution.
Only three counties — Laikipia, Nakuru and Murang’a — have initiated PPP projects that didn’t hit the tendering stage, a clear indicator of lack of capacity by counties to pursue PPP to bridge the financing gap.
Probably, this would also explain why, despite pompous investors conferences held by some counties in the previous regimes, where memoranda of understanding (MoUs) worth billions of shillings were signed with the would-be investors never took off.
REQUIRED EXPERTISE
Some counties have even contemplated enacting their own independent PPP Acts, probably out of frustration. Of course, that would be futile.
There are a myriad other factors that curtail the potential of counties to fully exploit PPPs, the cardinal one being the lack of policies to create a conducive investment environment.
The Treasury has a key role to play in ensuring that counties get the requisite skills, knowledge and expertise in initiating and running PPPs. It should also enlighten counties on the legal framework and the required expertise.
VALUE FOR MONEY
The Council of Governors (CoG) should pursue capacity building in a more focused manner and with utter determination. Further, the question of control of projects initiated by this model should not elude the policy implementers.
Finally, the risks to the macroeconomic dynamics of the country, even in terms of debt levels, should be an issue of concern. additionally, the undying constitutional principles of accountability, transparency and value for money should be adhered to.
Mr Ndiani, the Clerk to the County Assembly of Nyandarua, is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya. [email protected].
