Government-Private Sector Partnership and Rural Development in Rivers State
Chapter One
Objectives of the Study
The general objective of this study is to assess the viability of Public-private partnership as a strategy in public organizations in Nigeria. The specific objectives are to:
- To examine the effect of Public-private partnership on infrastructural development in Rivers state.
- To examine the effect of Public-private partnership on corruption in Rivers state.
- To find out the effectiveness of Public-private partnership on security in River State.
- To examine the approaches of Public-private partnership in creating employment opportunities in Rivers state.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Public-Private Partnership (PPP)
PPP as we earlier noted is core a feature of New Public Management (NPM). While NPM in its length and breath is an approach that employs private solutions to remedy public sector problems. The focus here is to explore views on PPP. Public- Private Partnership (PPP) is an arrangement where private parties participate in or provide support for the provision of infrastructure or public sector provided facilities. It describes a government service or private business venture which is founded and operated through a partnership between government and one or more private sector company. PPP is not the procurement of an asset but the payment of a stream of services under specified terms and conditions.
According to Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) of Nigeria, (2011), ―A Public-Private Partnership is a contractual agreement between a public agency (Federal, State, or Local) and a private sector entity. Through this agreement, the skills and assets of each sector (public and private are shared in delivering a service or facility for the use of the general public. In addition to the sharing of resources, each party shares in the risks and rewards potential in the delivery of the service and/or facility‖. The goal is to combine the best capabilities of the public and private sectors for mutual benefits.
On the account of (Ministry of Municipal Affairs, British Columbia, 1999), PPPs are arrangements between government and private sector entities for the purpose of providing public infrastructure, community facilities and related services. For (Canadian Council for Public Private Partnerships, 2009), PPP is cooperative venture between the public and private sectors, built on the expertise of each partner, that best meets clearly defined public needs through the appropriate allocation of resources, risks and rewards.
In a similar vain, (Lawther, 2002) in (Mbanasor and Nwachukwu, 2011:2), defined Public-Private Partnership as a relationship among government agencies and private or non profit contractors that should be formed when dealing with services or products of highest complexity in comparison to traditional contractor consumers relationships. Public-Private Partnership (PPP) describes a government services or private business venture which is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more private sector companies, Obozuwa (2011:1). He further reiterated that a PPP arrangement provides assets and delivers services by allocating responsibilities and business risks among the various partners. In this arrangement, he opined that government remains actively involved throughout the projects life cycle. The private sector is responsible for the more commercial functions such as project design, construction, finance and operations. This distinction of responsibilities is secured by agreements.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), made further explicit description of PPP by situating it as project in one hand and as a strategy of service delivery on the other. It described PPP as a wave that is sweeping the world, rooted in a complex but contractual relationship between government and private sector organizations. A new and increasingly popular strategy of social delivery with global endorsement, PPP can be prosecuted as a project (when private investors build and operate service delivery institutions) and as a strategy of service delivery where private institutions discharge the responsibility of providing services hitherto provided by the public sector agencies. Fashola (2007:5), added that ―Public-Private Partnerships to finance infrastructure development have become inevitable in most parts of the globe because of the simple reality that government alone cannot muster sufficient resources to meet the needs.
The bottom line of the preceding views gives credence to the fact that in this era of global economic crisis, PPP remains the most appropriate approach or arrangement that provides economic lifeline for the government in the face of its depleting resources, as it offers business opportunities for the private sector to be involved in social provisioning.
Characteristics of Public-Private Partnership
- Basically, PPP is complementary in nature; that is, drawing on the strength of each of the dominant partners – the public and private sectors. This is why, effective public-private partnership is only possible through mutually designed, analysed and accepted instruments of cooperation and collaboration.
- The roles and responsibilities of the partners vary from project to project. The key consideration is the allocation of risk between the partners which affects other aspects of the partnership agreements, including rewards and investments. What should obtain in this regard is that the higher the risk, the higher the reward.
- On the whole, while the roles and responsibilities of the private and public sector partners may differ on individual servicing initiatives, the overall role and responsibilities of government do not change because Public-Private Partnership is one of a number of ways of delivering public infrastructure and related services. PPP does not substitute for strong and effective governance and decision-making by government. In all cases, government remains responsible and accountable for delivering services and projects in a manner that protects and furthers the public interest.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
In this chapter, we would describe how the study was carried out.
Research design
Ihejirika and Omego (2013) states that the research design is the way the researcher carries out his work to help give answers to the research questions. In order to prove or disprove the research hypotheses. It refers to the overall strategy that a researcher chooses to integrate the different components of the study in a coherent and logical manner thereby ensuring the research problems are effectively addressed.
The design adopted by the researcher was survey. This is a research design in which the researcher selects just a sample needed for the research and not the entire population. This design helped the researcher to determine the features/characteristic of the entire population.
Sources of Data
The data for this study were generated from two main sources; Primary sources and secondary sources. The primary sources include questionnaire, interviews and observation. The secondary sources include journals, bulletins, textbooks and the internet.
Population of the study
A study population is a group of elements or individuals as the case may be, who share similar characteristics. These similar features can include location, gender, age, sex or specific interest. The emphasis on study population is that it constitute of individuals or elements that are homogeneous in description (Prince Udoyen: 2019). In this study the study population constitute of Zenith bank in Local Government Areas in River state with specific interest in port Harcourt Area. A population of 160 purposively.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION, FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
Data Presentation and Analysis
This chapter evaluates the responses from the respondents as it relates to the objectives of the research. Their opinion is illicited through the questionnaire structured in five point scale i.e. (a) Strongly Agree (b) Agree (c) Undecided (d) Disagree and (e) Strongly Disagree. The essence is to avoid ambiguity in their responses, and to easily enable the researcher aggregate their responses for statistical analysis.
A total of 124 questionnaires were distributed but 116 copies were properly filled and returned which were used for data analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
Summary
This study is carried out in five chapters. Chapter one dealt with background information on government(public)-private partnership as a New Public Management strategy most viable and timely for Nigeria and River state in particular to bring about rural development. Statement of the problem, which is a pointer to the problem the work intends to address, has a link with the objectives of the study. The significance of the study indicates the relevance of the work to the wide society followed by scope and limitations of study which shows the expanse or time horizon of the research and the challenges encountered in attempt to carryout the research.
Chapter two is focused on detailed review of existing literatures on PPP as a viable option for rural development in Nigeria and the case of River State.
Chapter three provides a detailed account of the methodology employed for the work. Chapter four includes data presentation, analysis and interpretation while chapter five ends with summary, conclusions and recommendations on how to sustain and maximize the benefits of PPP
strategy in River State.
Recommendations
- Sustainability: Government in Nigeria is popular for programme abandonment and discontinuity, especially when there is administration change. As was earlier noted currently there are massive PPP programmes in River State and to a reasonable extent they are all working. Therefore, River State government should endevour to keep these programmes running beyond the administration that initiated them in as much as they remain relevant and meet needs. They should not be scarified on the alter of political gerrymandering which is the trade-mark of Nigerian politics.
- Even spread of infrastructures: The evidence that the administration of Sullivan Chime has done much in terms of rural development is not lacking but most of them are within the urban confine. Therefore, there is the need to open up the rural areas the more through rural establishments. This will decongest River Metropolis of overcrowd and discourage rural-urban migration in the state.
- Improving the already existing relative security to attract more investors.
This will bring about more employment generation, economic empowerment, reduction of social vices and political stability in the state.
Conclusion
The fundamental responsibility of good government is service delivery. When any government becomes incapable of delivering services to its citizenry, that implies its expiration. Therefore, government endlessly seek for the most cost-effective means of delivering services to the people while keeping afloat. As such, successful governance in this 21st century requires every hand on the desk i.e. partnership where possible and at all levels. This was why Mbanasor and Nwachukwu (2011:3), maintained that, ―it has become old fashioned to argue whether public ownership was always the best or whether privatization was the only answer. Government firmly believes it will only deliver the modern, high quality public services that the public want and increasingly expect to draw the best from both public and private sector‖. What matters most to the government is the approach that will most likely deliver the peoples’ needs.
Following the daunting recurring political and economic challenges to the government both at state and federal level, collaborative government has become the order of the day and good enough, River state is updated with the trend.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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