INTRODUCTION
Ideologically, it is expected that the government provides basic social amenities and infrastructure for its populace largely through taxes paid by citizens. In reality, taxes paid by citizens are not sufficient to ensure that these social amenities and infrastructures are provided for. It is no news that there is shortage of funding available for essential services and infrastructural development by the government in Nigeria and in almost every country in the world thereby creating a gap which NGOs and companies through their Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) have attempted to fill. The inability of the government to meet up with the increasing responsibility to provide and maintain infrastructure in the country and the need to regulate the contribution of private individuals to infrastructural development has led to the concept of Public-Private Partnership (PPP).
This article discusses the concept of Public-Private Partnership (PPP), clauses, examples, advantages, disadvantages and recommendations for its success.
A public- private partnership can be described as a co-operation between the public and the private sector, in which the government and the private sector jointly carry out a project on the basis of an agreed division of tasks and risks, each party retaining its own identity and responsibilities. It is a way for governments to mobilise funds and deliver what they would not have otherwise been able to provide i.e. the public infrastructure and services that the citizens require.
The underlying principle of PPPs is that, the public sector needs to be responsible for the delivery of a particular service, it does not have to be involved in the actual provision the service or for undertaking the investment themselves. In this way, all actors of a public private partnership can concentrate on doing their part of the agreement. PPP agreements are aimed at optimising the input of knowledge and resources from both sectors.
Major public infrastructural developments have always been undertaken by the private sector under contract. The major difference between a normal contract from the government and a private sector and public – private partnerships is the fact that the private sector can be regarded as a full-fledged contributor.