13 Framework for Action
This brief chapter attempts to summarise the various elements of municipal capacity building for public-private partnerships (PPPs) discussed in the preceding chapters and place them in a broad framework for action.
The complex arena of PPPs makes such an outline a matter of debate. This particular framework stresses urban management, poverty reduction and a broad perspective of PPPs. It aims to provide a structured way of considerig PPPs in their municipal context and supplements programmes and technical toolkits presented elsewhere. This complexity is acentuated further by integrating poverty responses into the PPP and not separating them as optional extras.
Central to this complexity is the untidy way in which vastly different organisations are simultaneously referred to as 'private sector'. Yet this complication reflects the real nature of service delivery in developing cities. The private sector participation (PSP) process is not a matter of shifting from purely public operation to purely large-scale private operation. It is a matter of shifting from a mixed composition of providers to a hopefully more integrated structure. This framework for action is therefore more focused on outlining the key elements and processes in this bigger picture than it is on the detail of large-scale private sector procurement. The reader is strongly advised to obtain detailed source material on these topics (see Appendix A).
Like any such framework, this is only a guide and must be adapted to suit the context, and the highly specific and general aspirations of the municipality. Local conditions will spell out what is possible and what is not. They will provide key areas of concern, whether political or regulatory. While action at the policy level is largely outside the scope of this book, it is a vital aspect of the potential of municipal capacity. Existing stakeholders and their respective capacities will further affect the key areas of action. The existence of a fleet of water tankers and reservoirs provides an asset for water delivery that cannot be overlooked in more ambitious network planning. Competent NGOs working with the poor in sanitation and hygiene promotion play a key role in linking the benefits of services to poverty reduction. The willingness of the international private sector will also clearly influence a municipality's approach to achieving its objectives. The balance of these is particular to each context.
What is unambiguous and straightforward is the need for greater support, at the municipal level, to focus PPPs and to integrate them into urban governance strategies. This framework aims to point municipalities towards the key areas of action in which more sector-specific action plans can be developed - hopefully with the assistance of external experts skilled in partnering and the planning, design and negotiation of contracts. This framework is thus just a structure for municipalities to use in creating the skeleton of a partnership focused on achieving urban and poverty objectives.