Capacity building has been the main focus of the PPPUE Programme in Namibia. It has addressed the lack of human resources, technical knowledge, policy and financial analysis skills. Capacity building has also contributed to popularize the concept of PPPUE, make it more acceptable, and develop knowledge that can be easily applied.
A key aspect of capacity building has been the preparation of tools: financing plans, business plans, and contract templates. Training has provided pilot local authorities with techniques, toolkits and enhanced knowledge to plan and develop proper contractual and financing arrangements. This has a strong relevance also in relation to the involvement of the private sector (e.g. defining the future stream of revenues from a service).
In Namibia there is a clear issue linked to the process of decentralization and to the need to strengthen the capacity of other actors next to the national ones. Initially, capacity building has focused more on the national level. However, it is widely recognized that once the capacity of the national level is adequate the focus should be on the local level as it is at the local level that PPP arrangements are implemented and local authorities are in great need of expertise.
Consultations with partner organizations are still in progress to reach consensus on strategies to strengthen the institutions to develop their capacity to play meaningful roles in the implementation of PPP arrangements in Namibia. It is expected that after the conduct of training and capacity building support interventions, partner organizations should be able to offer advocacy and support services to local authorities and other partner organizations at the sub-national level.