After reading the 2013/14 financial year Budget, I realised that it’s high time Uganda initiated some contemporary forms of project financing. Our country has pressing infrastructure needs which must be addressed by enhanced performance in key primary growth-stimulating sectors that will aid fundamental growth. Can Uganda singly finance her major development “conduits” in the short run? Whereas this is what any pro-development Ugandan would quest for, the answer is a big No!
So, if we cannot singly finance our development programmes from the local revenue least the population would stride for insurrections against Uganda Revenue Authority’s Allen Kagina for “over squeezing water from a rock, moreover in a dry season, does it mean our development programmes should lag behind or we wait for three to four years when the first barrel of oil is expected? We have many options awaiting our hard work.
Let me shed some light on this modern way of project financing that presses minimal burden on the government and taxpayer - the fundamental concept of Public-Private Partnerships PPPs, and the different rationales for their use.
PPPs have been defined in various ways but I will point out a generic definition: “A contractual arrangement between the government and private sector provider in which the two parties enter into a long-term agreement, up to 20 to 30 years, to build a new infrastructure facility or to rehabilitate an existing one for the purpose of undertaking a public service on behalf of the government.
The private party is required, under the terms of the project agreement, to take responsibility to mobilise finance equity as well as debt in order to complete the facility according to agreed specifications and schedule and the latter would benefit by way of i compensation from a revenue fund, ii charges or fees collected by the private party from users or customers, or iii a combination of compensation and charges or fees.
The private party is liable for the risks arising from the performance of its function; and offshore merchant account, equipment or other State resources may be transferred or made available to the private party.” A thorough reading of my definition will certainly point the readers to public entities as key engines to drive Uganda to the next level so as to be in consonance with Vision 2040.
Based on the definition above, it is obvious that PPPs can cover many different sectors and also include different levels of risk-transfer/ risk-sharing between the public and private sectors. This flexibility on the issue of “what is considered as PPP” can allow numerous innovations and variations in structuring projects, as long as they further the overall goal of PPPs, namely, to provide more available and high quality public services that are affordable, and which provide better value for money to both government and end-users without necessarily overstraining the government and the taxpayer.
Specifically, the most important reason behind PPPs is that while the public sector is accountable for ensuring that public services get delivered, it is not, in many cases, the best service provider in terms of cost, quality and ability to manage commercial risks. This limited ability of the public sector to manage commercial performance well is aggravated by the accelerating demand for infrastructure in developing economies of which Uganda is no exception.
PPPs offer better value for public money throughout the entire life of the project by: allocation of each of the project’s risks to the party that is best placed to manage each risk, harnessing of private sector’s incentives for better innovation, and commercial management expertise by involving the private sector more directly in the provision of public services, more efficient project delivery based on performance-based management principles, often transferring of financing responsibility to the private sector, thus freeing up limited public sector capital budgets to address other pressing social and developmental priorities. Some multilateral development partners, as one of the measures to ensure project viability, make institutionalisation of PPPs a pre-requisite for governments to qualify for funding.
The Uganda Government PPP Framework Policy, which Cabinet approved on March 10, 2010, gives mandate to relevant government departments to be responsible for implementation of PPPs while working closely with the Ministry of Finance’s PPP Unit. Implementation of PPPs, however, imposes financial commitment on the government’s future Budgets, thus requiring approval from Ministry of Finance.
My interpretation, therefore, is not meant to cause unnecessary exhilaration to the accounting officers of some of the entities as PPP regime requires a lot of planning, feasibility analysis, project screening and stakeholder management strategies. It is not uncommon for PPPs, despite their justification, to collapse on the shoulders of their initiators during the planning and procurement stages due to lack of proper planning when a lot of resources both human and financial have been wasted.
Reports have begun to circulate that you are linked with a move to Liverpool. As each day turns into night, the coverage on your transfer has grown stronger. People close to Shakthar say your arrival at Anfield is imminent. I hope they are right. I hope that every newspaper that has linked you to Liverpool proves accurate. You see – we don’t really boast a good track record with players linked with us. A prime example was last year when Tottenham hijacked our moves for Clint Dempsey and Gussi Sigurdsson, who if had joined Liverpool, we would have possibly finished in the top 4. With you, it could be different. At least I hope so faithfully. There are rumors linking you elsewhere which simultaneously propel my sanguinity towards pleading you to join the Reds.
You could wonder – why a club that was once the most illustrious is in dire need of your services. You are right to question our so called ascent to the Champions League. Since we finished second to United about five years ago, we have rarely posed a threat in the Premier League to the “New Top 4”. Henrikh, even our coaching staff, once the most stable position in English Football, has switched as often as the value of the British pound.
Kirkby, arguably dubbed to be the magma of producing the greatest talents in British Football, is enduring a meager revival after a dry, unfertile spell. Three years ago, our record was greater than Manchester United. Today, we are the benign interest of the Red Devils’ mockery. Our trophy cabinet has been heaved with dust since the end of the Kenny Dalglish’s first managerial spell at Liverpool. The more and more I dwell into our misfortunes, you might consider not coming at Anfield to don the Liverbird on your chest.
Read the full story at austpay.com!
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