Public-private partnership for urban economic development : a case study of the Shama Ahanta East Metropolitan Assembly
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Date
2005-11-03
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Abstract
Countries all over the world have now adopted the public-private partnership (PPP) approach to development perhaps due to wide—spread failures of state and private sector-led approaches to economic growth and especially poverty reduction. Even though partnership approach had been widely promoted. as a panacea to developing countries economic problems there is no much evidence to support this position as poverty is still prevalent after the adoption of this approach. There was therefore a general feeling that the processes and outcomes of the partnership projects have not been equitable enough to guarantee improved living conditions as was anticipated. This work analyzed PPPs for urban economic development in the Shama Ahanta East Metropolitan area. The focus was on the composition, role of partners and conditions for ensuring equity in partnerships processes and outcomes.
It was found that there were two types of PPP projects in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan area namely, management contract and concession. The partnerships were between the Assembly and private sector firms. Communities were found to he missing in all the partnership arrangements. Effective communication, commitment of stall and clear definition of roles were found to be critical success factors. Success of all the partnerships was also highly dependent on the Assembly’s law- enforcement role. The Assemblies enjoyed more power than the private sector firms. The public sector was also found to he performing its mediation role through price control policies even though the policy context of PPP makes performance of that role very challenging. Weaknesses were however found in the law enforcement role of the Assembly as well as the monitoring and public relation functions. These weaknesses made the achievement of equitable and beneficial partnerships difficult.
It was recommended that PPP options that have greater potential for attracting private capital be encouraged. The enforcement and education units of the Assembly should also be strengthened to be more effective and efficient. Incentive packages should he instituted for the employees of all partners and effective monitoring systems established. Specific steps should also be taken to ensure the effective participation of communities and
organisations in the partnerships to guarantee equitable processes and outcomes.
Description
A Thesis Submitted To The School Of Graduate Studies, Kwame Nkrumah
University Of Science And Technology Kumasi in partial fulfillment of the
Requirement for the Degree of Master of Science in Development Policy and
Planning, 2005