C. PPPUE National Programmes: An Example from Namibia

Mr. Stephen Adei
UNDP
Namibia

The City of Accra in Ghana represents an excellent example of the many overwhelmed local municipal governments in Africa. In Accra, the sewage and solid waste problem is almost out of control. It is estimated that these sectors offer an opportunity for creating employment for almost a quarter of a million people, but it is not happening - largely due to a lack of government capacity. At the moment, the government is still resisting involvement from the private sector because of traditional concerns about the private sector's profit motives. This is unfortunate, as studies have shown that people are willing to pay a reasonable rate for these services, but at the moment they are not. This creates the opportunity for partnership building with the private sector.

One of the reasons why innovative arrangements like PPPs are not catching on has to do with how caught up city officials are with the day-to-day matters of managing expanding cities. The situation, therefore, requires an outside organisation, like UNDP, to come in and present new options and mobilize the government.

For those governments that now recognize the role that the private sector can play in national development, there is little knowledge or capacity for how to proceed because for so many years the public and private sectors were mutually suspicious of the other's interests. Namibia presents a good case study of how UNDP has assumed a pioneering role in bringing these groups together.

Background On UNDP's Role In Namibia

Until independence, Namibia was organised around a number of well-organised white enclaves living in municipalities that were artificially cut off from the majority of the population. Now that people can move around freely, the country is experiencing some major demographic shocks as a result of significant internal migration. Windhoek, for instance, is growing at an annual rate of 5%, choking urban services. Most of this growth occurs in the sprawling squatter camps of 80,000 people, and the central Government's finances are insufficient to cope with the new demands being placed on their services. The situation is ripe for developing PPP alternatives.

The biggest opportunities are in the two most important sectors: water and waste management. Outside of Windhoek, the new cities lack infrastructure and provide their populations with only rudimentary services. A new example is the port city of Walvis Bay, which is experiencing a massive expansion in its fish processing industries. However, the municipality is not equipped for handling the waste, leading to the pollution of the coastal marine environment. Waste management and port expansion for this strategically located city are high on the government's agenda.

The challenge for developers of PPPs comes after the initial enthusiasm that is generated by the idea of sharing financial responsibilities for a big problem. When the players realise how much preparatory work needs to be done, the private sector often backs off. They see the capital and transaction costs as prohibitive.

UNDP's role is to encourage private sector involvement by eliminating some of these early transaction burdens. In the Ujams Water Treatment Works project north of Windhoek, for example, seed money was essential. In some cases, pilot projects will also be necessary to demonstrate the viability of an enterprise.

UNDP's vision for the Namibian Programme includes the following three phases:

1. Demonstrate application of urban wastewater to make commercially viable products to attract investment (fertilizer for mushroom cultivation and animal feed, for example);
2. Provide support for preparatory assistance by helping to identify key areas of support and to conduct advocacy among stakeholders through workshops and training sessions;
3. Conduct pre-feasibility and feasibility trials and hold roundtable discussions to bring the partners together.

UNDP can do a lot on the side as well. Through the PPPUE initiative, we intend to host exchanges and conduct study tours. UNDP has already facilitated the exchange of expert growers from the thriving Chinese mushroom industry, for example. In addition, PPPUE must demonstrate that PPPs are a viable opportunity for cash-strapped urban governments. To achieve this, PPPUE must also insert PPPs into mainstream thinking at both national and local levels, and within the private sector.

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