South Africa: Reviewing the PPP framework
To meet its growing infrastructure demand, South Africa has requested the World Bank to perform a thorough review of the country’s public-private partnership framework.
The challenge
While South Africa boasts a comprehensive public-private partnership (PPP) framework, it barely closes one such project per year. In light of the country’s infrastructure needs, the World Bank chose CPCS to conduct a review of South Africa’s PPP framework.
Context in brief
South Africa has completed 34 PPPs totalling $89.6 billion since 1999. This makes it number one in terms of PPPs completed on the continent.
The problem? South Africa’s success in closing PPP projects has slowed down in the past ten years. PPP projects are routinely delayed and cancelled. Public sector officials are opting for traditional procurement to develop and operate their infrastructure projects even when PPPs promise more value for money. When PPP deals do obtain, progress is slow and protracted.
What we’re doing
“The PPP Guidelines in South Africa haven’t been updated in over 15 years,” says Miho Ihara, the Director for this project at CPCS. “It’s due time to take a close look at how to conduct PPPs in the country.”
Areas for review include:
- PPP framework, including institutional arrangements
- PPP manual
- Municipal PPP framework and associated guidelines
- International best practice and lessons learned
Based on the review, the CPCS team will develop recommendations for improvements.
Impact
The revised framework is expected to yield more PPP deals in the long term.
