The NEPAD Agency continues with the second round of the PIDA Executive workshop on Public Private Partnerships (PPP) in the Rwandese capital, Kigali.
The workshop, which was held from 2 to 6 July 2018, is a collaborative effort between the NEPAD Agency, the African Union Commission (AUC) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). It focused on strengthening the competences of public sector project implementers within NEPAD, AUC, RECs and specialized sectoral and national institutions to enable them to coordinate/conduct/steer effective project preparation activities with a focus on planning and preparing PPPs.
The initiative is part of the PIDA Capacity Building Programme and saw PIDA implementation technical experts across the continent being trained in areas that will accelerate the implementation of PIDA projects, encourage private sector participation in infrastructure development in Africa as well as structure projects to improve domestic resource mobilization.
The training programme, which was conducted by a specialised PPP training institute, the Institute of Public Private Partnerships (IP3) based in Washington DC, compliments the many interventions that NEPAD Agency and the AUC, with the support of their partners, have developed to address the challenges of implementing PIDA projects identified during the Dakar Financing Summit.
A total of 35 participants, coming from 17 different countries attended the workshop including representatives from the African Union Commission, the NEPAD Agency, Regional Economic Communities (RECs), member States, PIDA project teams and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
The workshop is the second and the final in a two-part series, the first was held in Dakar, Senegal from 26 to 30 October 2017. With each workshop, the organizers continue to build the numbers of PIDA implementation technical experts who are trained in PPP Fundamental Strategies and Techniques, Infrastructure Project Finance/preparation and PPP Procurement Strategies (from marketing to financial closure).
Lectures and working sessions during the workshop are focused on guaranteeing that participants can return to their home countries to steer effective project preparation activities and to address the challenges of implementing PIDA projects.
The workshops have facilitated learning and insights on the strategic and practical considerations, and the critical success factors in developing and operationalizing PPP projects. Significant efforts would be required in the creation of the right institutional and operational environment that is conducive to the private sector, including the introduction of necessary policy incentives, building of state capacity to develop financially viable PPP projects, and introduction of an effective dispute resolution mechanism.
