Enhancing accountability in public–private partnerships in South Africa

In recent times PPP has emerged as an important approach to development, and become the buzzword in policy circles. Presented as a one stop solution to all of governmental woes in

2017

The South African government is prioritising infrastructure investment in its efforts to tackle the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment. Government’s commitment to an infrastructure driven growth process is clearly articulated in the New Growth Path and National Development Plan and signing into law of the Infrastructure Development Act (2014). As the government embarks on this massive infrastructure delivery process, it is important that the process is founded on sound accountability arrangements. When infrastructure delivery accountability fails many things do go wrong: public funds may be misappropriated or stolen, public officials may routinely demand bribes, public contracts may be unfairly awarded, and public services may be poorly delivered or not delivered at all. This paper evaluates accountability arrangements against the backdrop of the proliferation of indirect infrastructure grants and poor spending in these grants; diagnose accountability problems...

Public Administration Review, 2000

1999

Public-private partnerships have emerged, in the last couple of decades, as a new institutional arrangement through which to deal with a variety of key societal concerns, such as environmental improvement, regional and urban economic development, and educational reforms. Despite the rapid growth in their number, scope, and influence, there is still a need for considerable theoretical and empirical work exploring the nature of these multi-sectoral collaborative arrangements. One area of inquiry in which little scholarly work has been conducted is the topic of accountability mechanisms in public-private partnerships. As the focus of this paper, we explore this topic by first identifying some of the basic properties of these partnerships as they differ from traditional hierarchical organizations. We then analyze five different accountability mechanisms that have been used to historically to enhance the accountability of public as well as private organizations. These mechanisms include bureaucratic, political, professional, legal, and market approaches to accountability. Our analysis summarizes the basic characteristics of these five approaches to accountability and examines the potential relevance of each for accountability in the context of public-private partnerships. In light of the various weaknesses of these traditional approaches, we then propose a number of guidelines regarding three alternative approaches to accountability that are more consistent with the basic nature and purpose of public-private partnerships. We conclude the paper with some brief comments regarding possible future directions for research on accountability in public-private partnerships.

2015

Policy-makers are continuously seeking ways to improve service delivery and the management of facilities. Many governments are turning to the private sector to design, build, finance and operate infrastructure facilities which the public sector is normally responsible for providing. Creating a partnership with the private sector creates the opportunity to avoid the often negative effects of either exclusive public ownership and delivery of services on the one hand, or outright privatisation on the other. The application of good governance in Public-Private Partnerships will be a key component towards the improved service delivery and thus the improvement of quality of life for all citizens.

This paper used an explorative secondary data approach to understand how public private partnerships (PPP's) can be harnessed by the South African public sector to address service delivery challenges. National Treasury reports, government statistics, annual progress reports and current existing academic literature was used as data. In addition to this qualitative approach the paper used the functionalist framework to examine the different facets of PPP's that exist and their essence on service delivery in South Africa. Through the functionalist approach the study analysed the role of the private sector in service delivery. The study revealed that historically in South Africa, the responsibility of service delivery rested primarily within the government and the delivery of efficient public services has become a challenge confronting the government. The study concluded that there are various types of PPP's that can be harnessed by the public service for efficient service delivery to the public.

2008

Service delivery is the primary function of government and in this process the government has a responsibility to ensure that citizens have access to their fundamental rights as enshrined in the Constitution. Due to the limitation of financial resources at its disposal the state has been compelled to find alternative service delivery mechanisms in order to fulfil its mandate of ensuring that services meet the expectations of the people. In this regard Public Private Partnerships has been identified as an instrument in addressing the massive infrastructure and service delivery backlogs. Attention will be devoted to the establishment and examples of PPPs and the effect of PPPs on the process of budgeting. Finally the challenges regarding the utilisation of PPPs in service delivery will be highlighted.

South Africa, like other African economies has been faced with funding constraints resulting in the inability to finance infrastructure development for its exponentially growing population. In recent years, the country has witnessed a wave of protests against poor service delivery especially in the poor communities. Post-apartheid, the government tried to privatize inefficient and unprofitable parastatals to improve service delivery. However, the move faced strong resistance from unions and community representatives who were against the user-pay privatization initiatives. With the growing frustration in the poor South African communities, the government has slowly been engaging the private sector to meet its perennial funding gap through Public-Private Partnerships. Although PPPs have enabled the government to access private finance for investment in infrastructure, it has been widely argued that PPPs are a reincarnation of the controversial and unpopular privatization concept that failed in the past. This study investigates the success of public-private partnerships in financing infrastructure development in South Africa. The study conducted interviews and applied capital budgeting techniques to examine the success of government goals and the net benefit from public-private partnerships. The results show that government overestimates the extent to which public-private partnerships can solve infrastructure and service

International Review of Public Administration, 2014

The large-scale emergence of public-private partnerships (PPPs) has drawn attention to the mechanisms of accountability in PPPs. However, there has been little research yet on how the institutional logics of the mechanisms are instituted, and there is still little knowledge on the role of accountability in the governance of PPPs. The purpose of this article is to develop a theoretical framework for studying the institutional logics of accountability in PPPs by including institutional work projects in an analysis. The theoretical framework is applied in a single case analysis of the Finnish public-private pension system TyEL. The case study reveals accountability gaps and changes previous understanding of the role of public accountability in governance of PPPs.

2014

Government accountability is one of the key issues often raised in debates about governance in young democracies such as South Africa (RSA). Comparing two provincial governments in RSA as case studies, this thesis explores accountability between provincial government and its various stakeholders. There is a wide literature on government accountability however this literature is limited on RSA public sector accountability, either from the perspective of what it means or how it is attained. In recent years provincial government stakeholders have complained about weaknesses and lack of government accountability and efficient performance. The effectiveness of recent mechanisms such as Batho Pele (BP), as a way to consult citizens and therefore to enhance provincial government accountability and performance, has also been questioned by stakeholders and government. In this thesis, the PATIGAHAR accountability analytical framework is developed from the basic building blocks of the principa...

Edward Elgar Publishing, 2024

This insight explores how public-private partnerships (PPPs) in South Africa leverage the private sector to deliver public goods and services, ultimately improving public value. Defined as collaborative arrangements between government entities and private sector organizations, PPPs jointly plan, fund, and implement projects traditionally within the public domain (World Bank, 2020). These partnerships draw on the respective strengths of both sectors, combining the efficiency and innovation of the private sector with the public sector's responsibility for addressing societal needs (World Bank, 2020). PPPs offer insights into achieving positive public outcomes in countries like South Africa, grappling with challenges in governance, policymaking, and implementation. In examining South African PPPs, we are guided by Douglas and colleagues' (2021: 441) question, "Why is it that particular public policies, programs, organizations, networks, or partnerships manage to do much better than others to produce widely valued societal outcomes, and how might knowledge of this be used to advance institutional learning from positives?" South Africa's public sector confronts institutional capacity limitations, skills deficits, and corruption. In addition, the public sector faces skill shortages due to factors such as low education levels among bureaucrats, high attrition rates of qualified individuals, an imbalance in skills supply and demand, and political interference through cadre deployment -where unqualified party functionaries secure public sector positions. The skills shortage in South Africa, a legacy of apartheid, contributes to the non-implementation of public policies and service delivery failures, leading to violent 'service delivery protests'. PPPs can address skill deficits by investing in education and training for citizens in specialized fields, retaining highly skilled public servants through incentives, and shielding the public sector from political interference. This multifaceted approach aims to mitigate the challenges hindering effective public service delivery in South Africa.

The Global Financial and Economic Crisis in the South

Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 2012

a b s t r a c t identify six new frontiers in accountability and corporate governance research to stimulate research. This paper contributes to such research by devising a reporting framework and research agenda that relates to Brennan and Solomon's fourth frontier, sectors and context, focusing on the regulated hybrid organisational forms of Public Private Partnerships, which operate at the interface of the public and private sectors.

Australian Journal of Public Administration

The paper examines corporate governance mechanisms which aim to ensure financial accountability in the context of long-term Public-Private Partnership (PPP) contracts in Britain, and assesses the degree to which they provide taxpayers with control and accountability. The corporate governance arrangements are drawn from the private sector, and therefore downplay the traditional concepts of probity and stewardship, in part due to the British Treasury's adoption of private sector financial reporting. The paper draws on Shaoul et al.'s (2012a) governance-based reporting framework to critique the corporate governance mechanisms of structure, financial reporting, contracts, and scrutiny in relation to British PPP projects. It shows that the way these mechanisms are set up means there is a lack of control by the public sector, thus rendering public accountability ineffective.

This paper reflects on the Accounting for Basic Services Project (ABS), which aims to strengthen community engagement with local government with the purpose of ensuring equitable and effective use of municipal funds. The first part of the paper explores project practices by framing the importance of budget transparency work and how this lends itself to collaborative efforts at accountability; detailing the capabilities required to demystify public finance; and presenting snapshots of the six rural and urban communities where the project is being implemented. The second part of the paper explores the values guiding the interaction between project partners, and with external stakeholders as well as the project's mechanisms for learning and accountability. The paper concludes with a brief list of learning outcomes that not only capture insights from project implementation but also provide tools to mentally prepare for the normative understanding, technical aptitude, and optimistic attitude necessary for budget analysis specifically, and public policy research more broadly.