Introduction

A contract of carriage of goods by sea is usually between the shipper and the ship owner or carrier. The terms of the contract of carriage are generally evidenced by a bill of lading. A bill of lading is a document issued by the ship owner to acknowledge receipt of cargo delivered to him for the purpose of carriage and the terms of the contract upon which the cargo is carried are incorporated in the bill of lading. The bill of lading is usually governed by a set of rules resulting from different United Nations International Convention[1].

In Nigeria, the Hague Rules 1924 and the Hamburg Rules 1978 are concurrently in force. The Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 2004 (COGSA) domesticated the Hague Rules. COGSA essentially covers only outgoing cargo and excludes import. Accordingly, before the existence of the uncertainty surrounding the determination of the legal regime, imports were governed by the contractually agreed carriage regime usually contained in the bill of lading.

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.