Public infrastructure development has been recognised by many as crucial to economic growth and prosperity on the African continent in general and in the East African Community in particular. The OECD underlines the substantial benefits Africa could achieve through the development of its infrastructure, measuring the potential impact as lying around 2% GDP. The positive impact in the East African region would be even greater than in most other parts of the continent.
One of the major reasons for East Africa's infrastructure gap lies with governments often lacking the means to close this gap in terms of funding and technical competencies. Involving the private sector in public infrastructure development through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) constitutes a viable solution to tackling these shortcomings head on. Indeed, regional governments have endorsed the PPP process as one of the avenues to facilitate the delivery of infrastructure projects. This should allow them to take advantage of the expertise and resources that are available in the private sector to undertake some of its infrastructure projects.
Through the establishment of the Public Private Partnership Project Advisory Unit Network (PPP PAUN), the East African Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (EACCIA) aims to support the public sector in creating an enabling environment for PPPs and to build the capacities of the private sector to mobilise the necessary expertise. This report outlines EACCIA's views and perceptions on PPPs and presents the strategy for furthering their application through the PPP PAUN.