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The implication of privatising water supply in Sub-Saharan Africa: a qualitative study on urban water supply public-private partnerships in Ghana and Tanzania
Since the 1990s, neo-liberal theory has suggested that privatisation is the panacea for public sector inefficiency. Many sub-Saharan African countries have subsequently undertaken varying degrees of privatisation because of pressure from donors and financiers such as the World Bank and the Internati...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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School of Economics
2022
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| _version_ | 1867613168020226048 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Putu, Tshegofatso Luthando |
| author2 | Thiam, DjibyThiam |
| author_browse | Putu, Tshegofatso Luthando Thiam, DjibyThiam |
| author_facet | Thiam, DjibyThiam Putu, Tshegofatso Luthando |
| author_sort | Putu, Tshegofatso Luthando |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Since the 1990s, neo-liberal theory has suggested that privatisation is the panacea for public sector inefficiency. Many sub-Saharan African countries have subsequently undertaken varying degrees of privatisation because of pressure from donors and financiers such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. These international institutions have often attached this policy suggestion to loan and debt restructuring conditions, when interacting with developing countries. Specifically, developing countries have been advised to take on publicprivate partnerships which can be seen as an application of privatisation theory. These publicprivate partnerships have been said to increase financial efficiency, managerial efficiency and increase capital investment. Despite such expected long-term benefits, privatization – which has been operationalised through private sector participation - has not yielded positive outcomes for many sub-Saharan African countries. Many public-private partnerships have been cancelled or litigated for not achieving their objectives. Public-private partnership has also not been successful at stimulating critically needed capital investment. The study therefore tests the validity of the theory of privatisation through the examination of the experiences of public-private partnerships in urban water supply utilities in Ghana and Tanzania. I suggest that the characteristics of water supply infrastructure, and the associated risks diminish the prospects of success of public private partnerships. Poor data on water supply infrastructure, water supply capabilities, and water users limit efficiency objectives. These aspects, particularly the risk-related ones, also discourage private investors who subsequently opt for short-term and low risk contracts. This makes subsidies and operational loans from the state necessary in order to incentivise private participation. Alongside diluting the risks for private firms, the incentives for private participation also become diluted. The paper suggests that preoccupation with private or public ownership in the sub-Saharan African context is undue and that more focus needs to be assigned to capacitating local human resources and institutions. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/36045 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:31:50.330Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2022 |
| publishDateRange | 2022 |
| publishDateSort | 2022 |
| publisher | School of Economics |
| publisherStr | School of Economics |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/36045 The implication of privatising water supply in Sub-Saharan Africa: a qualitative study on urban water supply public-private partnerships in Ghana and Tanzania Putu, Tshegofatso Luthando Thiam, DjibyThiam economics Since the 1990s, neo-liberal theory has suggested that privatisation is the panacea for public sector inefficiency. Many sub-Saharan African countries have subsequently undertaken varying degrees of privatisation because of pressure from donors and financiers such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. These international institutions have often attached this policy suggestion to loan and debt restructuring conditions, when interacting with developing countries. Specifically, developing countries have been advised to take on publicprivate partnerships which can be seen as an application of privatisation theory. These publicprivate partnerships have been said to increase financial efficiency, managerial efficiency and increase capital investment. Despite such expected long-term benefits, privatization – which has been operationalised through private sector participation - has not yielded positive outcomes for many sub-Saharan African countries. Many public-private partnerships have been cancelled or litigated for not achieving their objectives. Public-private partnership has also not been successful at stimulating critically needed capital investment. The study therefore tests the validity of the theory of privatisation through the examination of the experiences of public-private partnerships in urban water supply utilities in Ghana and Tanzania. I suggest that the characteristics of water supply infrastructure, and the associated risks diminish the prospects of success of public private partnerships. Poor data on water supply infrastructure, water supply capabilities, and water users limit efficiency objectives. These aspects, particularly the risk-related ones, also discourage private investors who subsequently opt for short-term and low risk contracts. This makes subsidies and operational loans from the state necessary in order to incentivise private participation. Alongside diluting the risks for private firms, the incentives for private participation also become diluted. The paper suggests that preoccupation with private or public ownership in the sub-Saharan African context is undue and that more focus needs to be assigned to capacitating local human resources and institutions. 2022-03-10T14:32:43Z 2022-03-10T14:32:43Z 2021 2022-03-10T14:32:09Z Master Thesis Masters MCom http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36045 eng application/pdf School of Economics Faculty of Commerce |
| spellingShingle | economics Putu, Tshegofatso Luthando The implication of privatising water supply in Sub-Saharan Africa: a qualitative study on urban water supply public-private partnerships in Ghana and Tanzania |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | The implication of privatising water supply in Sub-Saharan Africa: a qualitative study on urban water supply public-private partnerships in Ghana and Tanzania |
| title_full | The implication of privatising water supply in Sub-Saharan Africa: a qualitative study on urban water supply public-private partnerships in Ghana and Tanzania |
| title_fullStr | The implication of privatising water supply in Sub-Saharan Africa: a qualitative study on urban water supply public-private partnerships in Ghana and Tanzania |
| title_full_unstemmed | The implication of privatising water supply in Sub-Saharan Africa: a qualitative study on urban water supply public-private partnerships in Ghana and Tanzania |
| title_short | The implication of privatising water supply in Sub-Saharan Africa: a qualitative study on urban water supply public-private partnerships in Ghana and Tanzania |
| title_sort | implication of privatising water supply in sub saharan africa a qualitative study on urban water supply public private partnerships in ghana and tanzania |
| topic | economics |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/36045 |
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