Public-private partnership strategic Implementation initiatives at the municipal Council of Mombasa

Abstract

Public private partnership strategy is a contractual collaborative arrangement between the public sector and private entity in pursuit of a common objective for a stated period of time. This study examines the implementation process of public private partnership strategy as well as the challenges of implementation in the Municipal Council of Mombasa. The study used case study design since the unit of analysis was a single organization. Primary data was collected using an interview guide while secondary data was collected through desk research. Directors of departments whose functions used the PPP strategy were interviewed. The study also went through the contract agreements, minutes of council resolutions and quarterly reports to get secondary data. Content analysis was used to analyze the data collected. The study revealed that Mombasa Municipal Council has chosen Public private partnerships as a strategy of service delivery of four of its key mandates. These are parking services, street lighting, beautification of roundabouts and parks and provision of toilet facilities. The partnerships are long term as well as short term. It was clear that the short term partnerships delivered better outcomes as compared to long term agreements. The study revealed that although the PPP strategy had improved service delivery, the implementation faced many challenges. These are lack of expertise, lack of policy, poorly designed contracts, corruption, political interference, unexThe study recommends that for successful implementation there is need to involve expertise, have policy guidelines and regulations, openness and honesty from partners,careful scrutiny and precaution before signing the contracts and involve stakeholder in the process. The study also recommends that further studies be carried out in other public entities to compare the results.