Yet, partnership working with the private sector based on long-term relation must be scrutinized very carefully as it may easily lead to anti-competitive behavior. Moreover, the PA may be captured by the contractual power of the sole provider of service. On the other hand when the public sector is the receptor of the services provided by the private partnership, there can be a similar concern that the public sector wants to raise maximum revenues by granting private firms the right to act as a monopolist or be themselves captured by the monopsonist, normally with a pass-through of the negative consequences to the final users.36
| Public sector | Private sector |
Provision of services | Public sector involvement in provision, whether alone or with partners, is needed only where market failures cannot be eliminated through regulation of private providers - and, even then, public sector providers should be made to compete in 'quasi-markets', whether or not they are working in partnerships | Private provision should always be organized through competitive behaviour -cartels masquerading as 'partnerships' must be regulated by public competition policy, which should seek to eliminate them or reduce their effects(reducing 'horizontal integration' of firms) |
Commissioning of services | Joint commissioning to increase joint outputs or reduce joint costs is cost effective | Joint commissioning of goods or services is only acceptable- where it does not give significant market power to the partnership concerned |
[Peru - Decreto Legislativo n. 1012 Art. 5] Competencia. Deberá promoverse la búsqueda de la competencia a fin de asegurar eficiencia y menores costos en la provisión de infraestructura y servicios públicos, así como evitar cualquier acto anti-competitivo y/o colusorio. [France - Ordonnance n°2004-559 du 17 juin 2004 sur les contrats de partenariat. (Modifié par LOI n°2008-735 du 28 juillet 2008) Art.3] La passation d'un contrat de partenariat est soumise aux principes de liberté d'accès, d'égalité de traitement des candidats et de transparence des procédures. Ces principes permettent d'assurer l'efficacité de la commande publique et la bonne utilisation des deniers publics. Elle est précédée d'une publicité permettant la présentation de plusieurs offres concurrentes dans des conditions prévues par décret. |
Public Consultation [Brazil: Lei 11.079, Art. 10] Art. 10. Public-private partnerships shall be procured by competitive tendering. The opening of the tendering process requires: VI - submission of the draft invitation to tender and the draft contract to public consultation, which should be advertised in the official press, in newspapers of general circulation and in electronic media, informing the arguments for contracting a partnership, the scope and term of contract, its estimated value, setting a minimum period of 30 (thirty) days for comments and suggestions, which shall end at least 7 (seven) days prior to the scheduled date for publishing the invitation to tender |
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36 BOVAIRD T., cit., pp. 206.