Maravi

Mulongoti urges private sector involvement in infrastructure development

Mulongoti urges private sector involvement in infrastructure development
Written by Edwin Mbulo in Livingstone
Monday, February 16, 2009 5:03:32 AM

THERE is need for stakeholder consultation and public awareness on public private partnerships (PPPs), delegates to the just-ended PPP seminar in Livingstone have declared. And works and supply minister Mike Mulongoti said the involvement of the private sector in infrastructure development would help deliver desired results.

In a declaration passed at the end of the seminar last Friday, the delegates who were drawn from the government, energy, finance, utilities, insurance and the engineering sectors noted the need for confidence building and accountability in both the private sector and public sector through on-going dialogue, transparency and adherence to contractual obligations.

They resolved that being mindful of the critical role infrastructure development and proper service delivery played in ensuring social and economic development of the country, there was need for stakeholders to be consulted.

“We recognise the need for continuous and sustained infrastructure development and service delivery, recalling that in the national Policy on PPP’s, government acknowledges that it does not have sufficient resources to finance all infrastructure development and service delivery. Even as we respond to the demands of our economy, we should pay particular attention to the needs of the Environment,” they stated.

“While on empowerment, where a foreign entity is involved in a PPP project, there should be mandatory partnering with local entities.”

On capacity building, the delegates declared that there was an urgent need for capacity building for both the public and private sectors at all phases of the project cycle.

And Mulongoti said PPP’s played a complementary role in the overall process of provision of basic services.

“In order to enhance economic growth at the desired rate, infrastructure is a cardinal ingredient. It is important that concerted efforts are made to accelerate investment in the infrastructure and other services," he said.

He said government’s limited resources could get strained further with the current global financial crisis.

“It is important therefore that we pull resources together. It is no longer a question of what government can do for the people or what the private sector can do, but it is how government engages the private sector and work together to provide the much needed quality services at an affordable cost," he said.

He added that PPP essentially meant that government minimised its old traditional role of being the direct provider.

“The experience in Public Private Partnerships is that there is a need to tailor partnerships to best suit our local context that will meet local needs. In this regard, Public Private Partnerships have taken various forms ranging from service and management contracts, to leases and concessions and to perhaps the most sophisticated arrangements in the form of build-Operate Transfer (BOT) operations,” said Mulongoti.

Labels: INFRASTRUCTURE, MIKE MULONGOTI, PPPs, WORKSHOPS

posted by MrK @ 5:03 AM