An Analysis of factors affecting Public-Private-Dialogue(PPD) in Kenya
Date
2019
Authors
Aden, Abdikarim Daud
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Strathmore University
Abstract
Through the public-private-dialogue (PPD) process, the Kenyan government has over some years now placed more emphasis on public-private-partnerships (PPPs) in an endeavour to realize its development agenda. However, several operational, strategy and policy challenges affect the PPD process in Kenya. Literature reviewed pointed out that the private sector's relationship with government is in some cases viewed skeptically as one that is driven by political pressure from the ruling elite and prominent personalities in government. This study sought to analyze the factors that affect the success of the PPD
process in Kenya, by reviewing the PPD Charter of Good Practice (20 15) as the main empirical literature source. The researcher identified six (6) key factors that contribute to the success of PPD. This include the existence of an open governance process; an appropriate structure that facilitates wide representation and participation of a wide array of stakeholders; the achievement of quality outputs; an outreach and communications strategy; a monitoring and evaluation framework and a sustainability mechanism. Data collection was achieved by conducting interviews with 15 key informants (8 from public sector and 7 from private sector) that were purposively selected, based on their experience and knowledge of the PPD process within the Kenyan context, and on their willingness to participate in the study. The study reaffirmed that the PPD process is essential for spurring national development, employment creation and mitigating poverty levels. However, the PPD process in Kenya has not been optimally structured to reap the full benefits from the process. The recommendations made were that the government should become more open and approachable to the private sector to avoid the purpose of the PPD process being hijacked by a powerful elitist group. The process should be more inclusive in terms of representation and participation; there should be independent evaluation of PPD/PPP projects to assess their quality and outcomes; enhance information sharing amongst stakeholders and that the government should marshal more resources in support of the process for it to be sustainable in future. Considering that this was a qualitative study, the researcher recommends that a quantitative study be done to establish the extent to which these key factors affect the success of the PPD process in Kenya. Further studies should also be done to analyze key factors influencing the choice of PPP projects in light of the PPD process, with reference to international best practices.
Description
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of a Master's Degree in Public Policy and Management at Strathmore University