By Agness Changala
Southern African Institute for Policy and Research (SAIPAR) says the framework on public participation on Public- Private Partnership (PPPs) has not been operationalised in Zambia.
During a roundtable discussion for the stakeholders to discuss the key findings and policy implications of a research undertaken, institute research fellow and associate director, law and justice Dr Tinenenji Banda observed that public participation was a strong indication of whether the PPP would be successful or not.
She said when the public understood that PPP projects reflected their aspirations, the overall sustainability and viability of the project was enhanced.
Dr Banda said effective public participation mechanisms enhanced public trust by explaining project benefits, clarifying expectations and securing public endorsement for a given project.
She said public trust could also be enhanced by greater transparency around potentially problematic aspects of PPPs like bidding.
Dr Banda also said bidding was a key aspect of both solicited and unsolicited procurement methods for PPPs.
She said when bidding regulations and scoring criteria were not publicly available, allegations of malfeasance could arise.
“Opaque bidding processes can erode public confidence, and enhanced disclosure can be litmus test of the government’s commitment to transparent and accountable governance,” Dr Banda said.
She said enhancing public participation in PPPs also made economic sense.
Dr Banda said public disapproval of a PPP could make or break projects, saying societal discontent was one of the reasons PPPs failed.
She also said a lack of public support, particularly for large PPP projects with high visibility, complicated project delivery and could cause unrest, delay and disruption.
“Therefore, pro-active, preemptive and sustained engagement with the public must be a key aspect of optimizing PPP up take in Zambia,” she said.
According to Dr Banda, a 2023 UNECA diagnostic of Zambia’s readiness for PPP observed that the public was mainly unaware of PPP projects and implementation structures because the government had not communicated information about PPPs effectively.
“For the most part, the public believes PPP initiatives are government projects and, as a result, is unaware of the private party’s role. This strategic information gap limits public support for PPPs,” she said.
To operationalize public participation mandate, Dr Banda and her team among them Hope Homela, intern, Law and Justice recommended the development of a communication strategy that would prevent the hijacking of the PPP discourse by purveyors of misinformation.
They also recommended citizen feedback mechanism for collecting and addressing stakeholder concerns as well as enhanced disclosure tools for PPP bidding processes.
And Professor Ndulo said there was nothing wrong with the National Pension Scheme Authority (NAPSA) investing pension funds in the PPPs if it would double the funds.
In March, NAPSA signed $300 Million finding and investment for the rehabilitation and upgrade of US$650 Million 372 kilometers Lusaka- Ndola Road to a dual carriage way.
Prof Ndulo said increasingly, world over, a lot of pension funds were invested and that is how others also acted.
The discussion was attended by officials from the Green Economy, the World Bank and Ministry of Commence among others.
