Background
The Government of Rwanda (GoR) views Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) as an essential tool for promoting the development of quality infrastructure assets and related services in the public domain. Accordingly, in early 2008, GoR set out its commitment to PPPs as a procurement option in the National Public Investment Policy (NPIP). The Policy highlighted the role to be played by PPPs as a catalyst for private sector development. However, GoR recognizes that PPPs can only play such a role if they offer genuine value for money and improved services for the public sector. GoR has therefore set up two entities within the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, a Public Investment Technical Team (PITT) and a PPP unit, to provide overall strategic, managerial, and regulatory guidance at various stages in the PPP process, to serve as custodians of the PPP process, and to provide technical advice and assistance to GoR.
Task
To make the two newly constituted units operational, GoR engaged ACET to support it in developing a national framework that will guide the staff of these units in the rolling out of PPPs.
Findings/Recommendations
With ACET’s support, GoR has completed a detailed PPP handbook that covers key aspects of the project cycle. Key elements of the handbook are summarized below:
- Policy Framework for Public Private Partnerships: The handbook presents the key parameters of the PPP framework, including definitions and guiding principles. The book highlights the different type of partnerships found in the country and differentiates between PPPs and Joint Ventures (JVs) and the planning processes required for each to ensure that government will realize value for money through partnering with the private sector.
- Institutional Framework: The handbook clarifies the main role players in the PPP process and delineates their responsibilities. The document distinguishes between those institutions involved in project promotion and facilitation, from those involved in project origination and structuring. It also identifies PITT as the regulator of PPP procurement, and the PPP unit as the centre of excellence in terms of best practices.
- Regulatory Framework for Public Private Partnerships: The regulatory framework for PPPs is also set out in the handbook. It identifies the key requirements for a procuring institution, differentiating between projects of different scales.
- PPP Planning and Design: The handbook presents the steps involved at the outset of the project cycle and what an institution must do to register its project and to initiate the planning process. The importance of the detailed feasibility study is highlighted as a central requirement of sound planning.
- PPP Procurement: The main stages to be followed by GoR and prospective bidders in terms of a tender process to ensure fairness, transparency, and competition in line with the National Public Procurement Act are explained in detail. The document also outlines some of the main considerations for selecting private partners in PPPs.
