Public-private partnership is a key to improving the performance of the public sector

 

Public-Private partnership is a key to improving the performance of the public sector

Our success has really been based on partnerships from the very beginning. (Bill Gates)

According to the World Bank, “Public-private partnerships (PPPs) can be a tool to get more quality infrastructure services to more people. When designed well and implemented in a balanced regulatory environment, PPPs can bring greater efficiency and sustainability to the provision of public services such as energy, transport, telecommunications, water, healthcare, and education. PPPs can also allow for better allocation of risk between public and private entities”.

Agreement between the government and the private sectors for the provision of the public goods and services by the ends. It involve private financing, construction and management of key infrastructure etc. The private partner invests in the application software design, development, implementation and operations, the government maintains the responsibility to deliver services to the citizen. Private sector just work for gaining more profit with invest minimum resources and the public sector not work for gain maximum profit because the main motive of the public sector to provide the best services to the citizens.

Successful implementation of E-Governance requires an abundance of technical and financial resources. Public private partnership has emerged as a viable solution, thereby enabling adequate funds and skills of the private sector to be utilized for e-government projects. In November 2007, the government of Pakistan introduce an initial policy on public private partnership, this policy aims to promote the public-private partnership in the country in the light of providing more efficient, affordable and timely infrastructure services. The private sector implement their own policies on public sector to make more effective and provide the effective service delivery on time. The government is considering the formation of an Infrastructure Project Financing Fund as an independent financing body for PPP projects.

“As a cornerstone of my policy, we will substantially expand public-private partnerships to maximize the amount of investment and funding that is available for space exploration and development”. (Donald Trump)

Public private partnership are concerned with services, not assets. The government does not need to own infrastructure and providing related services to the government, Government retaining responsibility for the delivery of core processes or services. The Government and private party working together for achieving certain goals and standards. When the public and private share their strategies and polices then the sector work more efficient. Government invest minimum resources and get maximum benefits due to the partnership with private sectors.

In public private partnership, the government play a vital role in making the effective policies and these polices is beneficial for both sectors public and private. Identify the opportunities and define objective clearly. When the plans and goals are cleared then they make the strategies to achieve that targets. Government ensure the transparency and probity in the procurement process. Safeguard the interests of customers and the general public as well.

INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT DEVELOPMENT FACILITY (IPDF):

Infrastructure Project Development Facility (IPDF) as stated before, IPDF is the central Public Private Partnership Unit of Pakistan working under the Ministry of Finance. It was started in 2007 to act as a bridge between public and private sector by facilitating the public sector institutions in the development and implementation of infrastructure projects through Public Private Partnerships. IPDF assists the implementing agencies from the inception of a project to structuring the project and leading it to financial close. A PPP enabling framework comprising of project guidelines, standardized PPP provisions, and a well-defined PPP project development life cycle is already in place along with a growing project pipeline. IPDF has followed a demand driven strategy for the development of its project pipeline and taking on certain projects identified by various agencies, organizations and institutions themselves either in response to IPDF efforts or otherwise. At present IPDF is working on about 13 projects in different sectors and at various stages of completion. The value of these projects is approx. Pak Rs.230 billion (US$ 2.70 billion). Mandate of IPDF includes the following sectors:

•         Transport and logistics

•         Mass Urban Public Transport

•         Municipal Services including water supply and sanitation; and solid waste management; low cost housing

•         Hydro Power Projects and Small Scale Energy Projects

•         Social Infrastructure

•         Health and Education

 

EXAMPLES OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

 

PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS BOOST EDUCATION IN PAKISTAN:

Since the mid-1990s, public-private partnerships have become an important part of Pakistan's education policy discourse as the Government has encouraged the involvement of the private sector and civil society organizations in the financing, management and delivery of education services in Pakistan.

The Pakistan Reading Project has also partnered with Intel Pakistan to train 108 public school teachers on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) skills across five regions/provinces: Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, Sindh, Azad Jammu Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. As part of Intel’s Education Initiative, the training was designed to enhance teachers’ competencies in the use of ICT in schools and their daily lives.

 

Eight companies have formed partnerships with Pakistan Reading Project, an initiative which aims to improve the reading skills of 1.3 million children in grades 1 and 2 in public schools across the country. The project is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The private-public partnerships come at an opportune time when the country seeks to boost the educational outcomes of its millions of public school students.

The U.S. and Pakistan have worked together for more than 70 years on issues that are important to both nations, including energy, economic growth, peace and inclusion, education, and health. USAID’s current country development cooperation strategy for Pakistan focuses on fostering a more stable, peaceful and prosperous country. To achieve this, USAID is partnering with the Government of Pakistan to expand the writ of government along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region; promote more peaceful communities in key areas; increase private-sector led, inclusive economic growth; and strengthen global health security capacities. This work directly supports Pakistan’s development aspirations, as outlined in Pakistan Vision 2025, and its journey towards sustainable, self-reliant growth and development.

 

PAKISTAN RAILWAYS:

ECNEC gives nod for implementing Karachi Circular Railway on PPP mode. The transaction structure of the project was approved by the Public Private Partnership Authority (P3A) Board which envisaged provision of capital VGF to the tune of PKR 86.5 billion. The successful private party will get Minimum Revenue Guarantee.

MOTORWAYS AUTHORITY:

Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) approves 117-km green-field Kharian-Rawalpindi Motorway which is proposed to be constructed on Public Private Partnership (PPP) basis at a total cost of PKR 96 billion (including cost of land acquisition & other overheads to be borne by Government of Pakistan amounting to PKR 16 billion).

Public Private Partnership Authority (P3A) Board approved Transaction Structure of the Project envisaging provision of both capital and operational VGF to make the Project financially viable/ bankable for the private sector.

The Project is essentially an extension of Lahore-Sialkot and Sialkot-Kharian motorways aiming at taking the motorway further to the twin cities of Rawalpindi/ Islamabad. The Project is anticipated to be constructed in 2 years. With its completion the Project is expected to reduce distance between Lahore and Islamabad by 90 km.

HEALTH SECTOR:

Public–private partnerships (PPPs) have become popular worldwide as a way of improving health care service delivery. It is an approaches to addressing public health problems through the combined efforts of public private and development organizations complimenting each other by contributing or sharing their core competency.

Recently the government of Pakistan distributing the health cards services to the poor peoples. These poor people can do treatment in any public and private hospitals for free of cost. The people are not to a single fee each and every things will be free of cost like treatment, medicine, travelling expenses, food etc. in this the government can do collaborate with the private sectors to provide the better quality of health services to every citizens of Pakistan.

 

REFERENCES:

Microsoft Word - PAKISTAN.doc (unescap.org)

https://twitter.com/P3Authority

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/publicprivatepartnershipauthority_publicprivatepartnerships-motorway-infrastructureinvestment-activity-6893891161308938240-MKUd

https://www.worldbank.org/

https://www.usaid.gov/pakistan

 

 

 

 

Written By: Mubashir Hussain

Department of Governance and Public Policy

BS-6 (Morning)

Roll No.21857