Assessment of the factors influencing the implementation of Public Private Partnerships in the Road Annuity Program in Kenya
Date
2021
Authors
Onyinkwa, Justus Morara
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Strathmore University
Abstract
Globally, most governments are handicapped in terms of developing public infrastructure from exchequer funding alone. Paradoxically, however, the demand for these facilities is on the rise. Consequently, attention is today turning to the adoption of the public private partnership (PPP) investment model that taps into the private sector capitation through dedicated policy frameworks. This is the case in Kenya, where the government recently developed a road annuity program (RAP) to construct 10,000 kilometers of roads. RAP being a relatively new development concept, this study aims to assess the factors that are potentially having a significant influence on the successful implementation of a PPP investment model such as RAP. From the literature review, 39 factors clustered around five themes were identified and were assessed. In an attempt to fill this knowledge gap, the study sought to know the influence of these 39 factors (five themes) on the implementation of RAP as well as the relationship between the five themes. Using a 5-point Likert Scale questionnaire tool, the study targeted to capture the opinions of 60 purposely sampled stakeholders on an ordinal score ranging from 1 to 5 for each of the 39 factors. For validation of the results, the study conducted in parallel a face to face interview on 10 experts selected from the 60 stakeholders using strategically prepared talk notes. A total of 55 responses were returned. The same were cleaned and analyzed using MS Excel, IBM version 25 Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for quantitatively using exploratory data analysis through box-plots and Spearman Rank correlation. As a check, NVivo software for qualitative data analysis was deployed on face to face interview transcripts to validate the non-parametric analysis results. From the descriptive statistical analysis, the mean score of both the 15 (27%) private sector actors and 40 (73%) public sector actors, it was established that item number 23, specifically, "High investment capital threshold is discouraging our local companies" is the most influencing factor from both the private (with a mean score of 4.00) and public sector actors (with a mean score of 4.10) including the combined score of both at a mean of 4.07. The factor was again captured as an outlier in the box-plot on the whisker lines of both public and combined mean scores. This view was again validated from the analysis of the face to face interview transcripts as well as by the computation of the Spearman Rank coefficient which returned positive and significant on the relationship between 39 factors(5 themes) influencing RAP implementation from both the private and public sector realms. The study has contributed to the knowledge around the fact that investment threshold is a key determinant in the implementation of RAP projects. The study, therefore, makes a recommendation for a new study on how to improve the Public Private Partnerships policy framework to tweak the investment capitation threshold. This can be done by the Government by forming an Infrastructure Development Finance Company composed of banks and financial institutions to finance the markets hence encouraging the local companies to be involved in PPP project since this will boost their capacity and minimize risks in general.
Description
A Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters in Public Policy and Management in Strathmore Business School
Keywords
Road annuity, Public-Private Partnerships, Infrastructure