CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS FOR PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IN THE WATER SECTOR IN KENYA
Albert Njeru Gatuta Njeru - Student, Master Of Public Policy and Administration Kenyatta University, Kenya
James Maingi - Lecturer, Kenyatta University, Kenya
ABSTRACT
Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are essential because they facilitate the implementation of infrastructure projects in developing countries. The benefits of these projects are greater in developing countries where public funding for infrastructure development cannot meet demand. The Kenyan government, through the PPP Unit, has undertaken a number of PPP projects with the aim of reducing infrastructure gaps. Presently, the government has 47 ongoing PPP projects in different ministries. The challenge for the Ministry of Environment, Water and Natural Resources is that although the primary legislation sets the legal framework for PPP transactions, there is no per-sector PPP policy that coordinates PPP process, human resource capacity, leadership and resources. The absence of a per-sector PPP policy framework that meets the needs the ministry motivated this research. The general objective of the study was to develop a framework for successful PPP model in water and sanitation in Kenya. Specific objectives were: To identify key factors for consideration in adopting a PPP project; to determine the factors that affect success levels of PPP projects; to identify key issues for consideration in the choice of a partner; and to investigate the selection criteria for the best form of partnership. The study used a descriptive design to develop and test hypothesis on the determinants of success in PPP projects in water and sanitation. Exploratory research design complemented the descriptive approach in establishing relationships among the determinants of success in PPP projects. A mixed method approach was used to collect data from a sample of 16 employees and director at the PPP Unit Secretariat. Unstructured interviews and structured questionnaires were used for data collection. The responses were entered into Hyper Research and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software programs for qualitative and quantitative analysis respectively. Qualitative analysis produces themes on the determinants of PPP success while quantitative analysis provided descriptive and inferential statistics to describe the relationships between variables on the determinants of PPP success. The findings of the study revealed that implementation of public-private partnerships in water sector was affected by various factors such as operating, revenue, technical, construction, regulatory, project, force majeure and environmental risk. Also, from the regression model, the findings revealed that coefficient of adjusted R2 was 0.795 which translates to 79.5%. This explains that 79.5% changes of public private partnerships can be explained the following variables; factors to consider when adopting PPP projects, success factors for PPP projects, factors for selection of PPP project and selection criteria for best. The study concluded that implementation of public-private partnerships in water projects is affected by factors such as risks involved, government control, procurement process, political stability, manager competences among others which need to be addressed. The study recommends that the formation of governance structures of the partnerships must be done according to the framework provided with strict conformity with the rules and regulations as set out by the regulatory authority so that proper checks and balances can be instituted to take cognizance of the interests of the parties involved in the formation of PPPs.