Public private partnership governance for developing road infrastructure in Uganda : a public sector perspective

Date
2019-04
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Abstract
ENGLISH SUMMARY : Theory and practice promulgate public private partnerships (PPPs) as a new procurement option for unlocking public infrastructure investment gaps in both developed and emerging economies. However, the contribution of PPPs towards improving public service delivery, especially for emerging economies, remains low due to poor governance. Given that Uganda recently adopted PPPs to develop road infrastructure, this study investigated the PPP environment in Uganda in order to establish the best approaches of governing PPPs for sustainable road infrastructure development. To achieve this, both national and international, and theoretical and practical perspectives were employed through qualitative research methodology with six interrelated objectives. Objective one sought to investigate the understanding and contribution of public infrastructure and PPPs through a review of literature. Findings indicated that PPPs are understood through the lenses of partnership relationships, contractual obligations and project lifecycle functions. Furthermore, PPPs have enormous benefits but are conditional upon the effective management of problems associated with them. Finally, based on public sector perspective, PPPs fit within the theoretical underpinnings of new public governance, public value, and new public service, and to a lesser extent new public management. The second objective reviewed literature and analysed documents to investigate the key elements of a PPP governance structure. Findings showed key elements of PPP governance structure to include best practices, critical success factors, PPP maturity trajectory, and stakeholder and risk management. Thirdly, literature was reviewed to investigate the international PPPs experiences and road practices. Lessons for Uganda included financial challenges and how governments have responded, the tolling practices and policies employed to ensure affordability and profitability of PPP roads, and the PPP road project examples with successes and failures for each and why such situations had to occur. Like the second objective, a review of literature and analysis of documents were undertaken to investigate the road reforms and their impact on road performance, and the PPP legal frameworks in Uganda for objective four and five respectively. Findings indicated that the past road subsector reforms have had limited effect on road infrastructure improvement and development because of lack of resource capacities and compromised governance systems and practices. In addition, results showed the existence of various legal policies supporting PPPs, though certain critical legal and policy frameworks are either non-existent, outdated, and with major inadequacies or both. Lastly, individual interviews were conducted to investigate the suitability of PPPs for road infrastructure development in Uganda. Thirty interviewees were used, and findings indicated a high motivation for PPP adoption but with limited understanding and awareness of PPPs, low PPP readiness levels with several challenges, and vast PPP opportunities but with many obstacles. Based on the aforementioned problems, respondents suggested critical success factors and best practices for effective management of PPP road projects. The findings from the six objectives resulted in the construction of a suitable PPP assessment and management governance model for road infrastructure development in Uganda. The development of the model was mainly informed by findings from the empirical study (i.e. objective 6), and supplemented with findings from the five literature and documentary analysis objectives in order to create robustness in the model. The effective application of the model is anticipated to remedy the current and future PPP road infrastructure development and governance problems.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING : Die teorie en praktyk verkondig openbare-privaat vennootskappe (PPP’s) as ’n nuwe verkrygingsopsie vir die ontsluiting van beleggingsgapings in openbare infrastruktuur, in sowel ontwikkelde as opkomende ekonomieë. Vanweë swak beheer-en-bestuur bly die bydrae van PPP’s tot die verbetering van openbare dienslewering, veral in opkomende ekonomieë, egter gering. Aangesien Uganda onlangs PPP’s vir die ontwikkeling van padinfrastruktuur aanvaar het, ondersoek hierdie studie die PPP-omgewing in Uganda om die beste benaderings tot die bestuur-en-beheer van PPP’s vir volhoubare padinfrastruktuurontwikkeling te bepaal. Om dit te bereik, is nasionale en internasionale, asook teoretiese en praktiese perspektiewe gebruik vir ’n kwalitatiewe navorsingsmetodologie aan die hand van ses onderling verbandhoudende doelstellings. Doelstelling een was daarop gemik om insig in en die bydrae van openbare infrastruktuur en PPP’s aan die hand van ’n literatuuroorsig te ondersoek. Die bevindings het aangedui dat PPP’s deur die lense van vennootskapsverhoudinge, kontraktuele verpligtinge en projeklewensiklusfunksies verstaan word. Verder bied PPP’s enorme voordele, maar dit hang nou saam met die effektiewe bestuur van die verbandhoudende probleme. Laastens pas PPP’s, vanuit die perspektief van die openbare sektor, binne die teoretiese onderbou van nuwe openbare beheer-en-bestuur, openbare waarde, en nuwe openbare diens, en in ’n mindere mate nuwe openbare bestuur. Die tweede doelstelling was gemik op ’n literatuurhersiening en die ontleding van dokumente met die oog op ’n ondersoek na die sleutelelemente van ’n PPP-beheer-en-bestuur-struktuur. Bevindings het aangedui sleutelelemente van ’n PPP-beheer-en-bestuur-struktuur behels onder meer beste praktyke, kritiese suksesfaktore, die PPP-volwassenheidsbaan, asook belangegroep- en risikobestuur. Derdens is die literatuur hersien met die oog op die ondersoek van internasionale PPP’s se ervarings en padpraktyke. Lesse vir Uganda was onder meer finansiële uitdagings en die reaksies van regerings, die tolpraktyke en -beleide wat gebruik is om bekostigbaarheid en winsgewendheid van PPP-paaie te verseker, en voorbeelde van die PPP-padprojek, met suksesse en mislukkings vir elkeen, asook die redes waarom sodanige situasies moes plaasvind. Soos vir die tweede doelstelling is ’n oorsig van die literatuur en ’n ontleding van dokumente onderneem om die padhervormings en die impak daarvan op padprestasie, sowel as die PPP se regsraamwerke in Uganda vir doelstellings vier en vyf te ondersoek. Bevindings het getoon dat vorige padsubsektorhervormings ’n beperkte uitwerking op padinfrastruktuurverbetering en -ontwikkeling gehad het vanweë ’n gebrek aan hulpbronkapasiteit en gekompromitteerde beheer-en-bestuurstelsels en -praktyke. Daarbenewens dui die resultate daarop dat verskeie regsbeleide bestaan wat PPP’s ondersteun, ofskoon bepaalde kritiese regs- en beleidsraamwerke óf ontbreek, verouderd is en aansienlike tekortkominge openbaar, óf albei. Laastens is individuele onderhoude gevoer om die geskiktheid van PPP’s vir die ontwikkeling van padinfrastruktuur in Uganda te ondersoek. Dertig deelnemers is ondervra, en die bevindings dui op aansienlike motiverings vir PPP-aanvaarding, maar met beperkte insig in en bewustheid rakende PPP’s, lae PPP-gereedheidsvlakke met verskeie uitdagings, en groot PPP-geleenthede, maar met baie hindernisse. Gegewe die genoemde probleme het die respondente kritiese suksesfaktore en beste praktyke vir effektiewe bestuur van PPP-padprojekte voorgestel. Die bevindings uit die ses doelstellings het gelei tot die daarstelling van ’n geskikte PPP-assesserings- en beheer-en-bestuursmodel vir die ontwikkeling van padinfrastruktuur in Uganda. Die ontwikkeling van die model is hoofsaaklik ingelig deur bevindings uit die empiriese studie (dit wil sê doelstelling 6), en is aangevul met bevindings uit die vyf literatuur- en dokumentêre ontledingsdoelwitte ten einde robuustheid in die model te skep. Die effektiewe toepassing van die model kan die huidige en toekomstige probleme met PPP-padinfrastruktuurontwikkeling en PPP-beheer-en-bestuur verbeter.
Description
Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2019.
Keywords
Public-private sector cooperation -- Uganda, Local government -- Uganda -- Citizen participation, Roads -- Uganda, Corporate governance -- Uganda, UCTD
Citation