DETERMINANTS OF PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS PROJECTS IN KENYA: A SURVEY OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS BASED IN MOMBASA COUNTY
Ng’ang’a Naomi Wacera - University of Nairobi, Kenya
John Bosco Kisimbii - University of Nairobi, Kenya
ABSTRACT
Many countries are facing unprecedented fiscal problems and are unable to devote the resources necessary to properly expand and maintain infrastructure. It is against this backdrop, most governments and local governments are turning to the private sector for assistance with the design, financing, construction, maintenance and operation of critical infrastructure facilities. However, these partnerships may frequently fail to achieve their intended goals due to the difference in the goals and approaches of the different partners. The purpose of this study was to find out the determinants of private sector participation in public private partnerships in Kenya focusing at public-private partnerships based in Mombasa County. The study was guided by the following objectives: to determine the influence of project cost, technological requirements, ease of doing business, project period and government policies as a moderating factor on private sector participation in public private partnerships in Mombasa County, Kenya. The study was grounded on the agency theory, the resource dependence theory and social exchange theory. A descriptive research design of quantitative method of data was adopted in this study. The target population of the study composed of various stakeholders in the PPPs including government representatives from the concerned ministries, PPP unit officials, project managers of the private partners and county government officials adding up to 252. Stratified sampling was used to ensure representation from the different stakeholders constituting the strata. Through simple random sampling, 152 respondents were picked from the strata using the ratio of 0.603 computed by dividing 152 with 252. Questionnaires were used for this study because there is low cost involved even when the universe is large and is widely spread geographically and are free from the bias of the interviewer. After the questionnaires are returned, the raw data collected was cleaned, edited, coded and tabulated in line with the study objectives. The quantitative data collected using the closed ended items of the questionnaire was assigned ordinal values and analyzed using statistics of frequency tables, percentages, mode and median. The organized data was then used in testing objectives of the study. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 25.0). The qualitative data from the open-ended questions were analyzed using conceptual content analysis. Inferential data analysis was done using Pearson correlation coefficient and regression analysis (multiple regression analysis). After data analysis presentation was made using tables. The study found that private sector participation in public-private partnerships in Kenya are greatly affected by the huge capital outlay, risk and risk management as well as timeliness in government funds and that delay in systems, length of project cycle greatly influences private sector participation in public-private partnerships in Kenya. The study concluded that funding had the greatest influence on private sector participation in PPPs followed by government policies then technological requirements then project period while had the ease of doing business then least effect on the private sector participation in PPPs. The study recommends that Government should ensure that Contracting Authorities are adequately funded to undertake relevant studies for effective implementation of PPPs, that government should promote the transparency in the different phases of Public-Private-Partnership projects through a legislative action and combat corruption and that government should also foster the private participation in Public-Private-Partnership projects, develop a strong and independent monitoring unit for the maintenance of the project, ensure the proper allocation of the risk by including risk-management experts, include private partners from the beginning of the project and provide economic incentives.
