Treasury unlocks county public-private partnerships

The National Treasury has unlocked Public Private Partnerships (PPP) for county governments by setting down the procedure for the devolved units to apply for the projects.

This in the new draft of the 2022 Public Private Partnerships (PPP) Regulations which are now the subject of stakeholder input at the public participation stage.

The regulations are set to serve as an activation for the 2021 Public Private Partnership Act which in part brings counties under the scope of PPPs.

County governments’ accounting officers are expected to approve a PPP project list prepared by the county government before the list is approved by the County Assembly.

The list of proposed PPP projects is also to be submitted to the PPP Directorate at the National Treasury at least three months to the end of the financial year.

“A county government intending to undertake a public private partnership project shall constitute a county project implementation team in consultation with the Directorate, which shall consist of such technical, financial and legal experts as the county government shall determine,” reads part of the draft regulations.

County governments will be required to prepare feasibility studies for PPP projects and deliver the same to the Directorate for evaluation and submission to the Public Private Partnership Committee.

The Committee is subsequently expected to consider the feasibility report within 21 days determining whether or not, a county can implement the said PPP project.

Counties will be additionally required to submit a project and risk assessment report to the county assembly for approval.

The participation of county governments in Public Private Partnerships has been tipped to be a game changer in the development of infrastructure in the country, with the devolved units playing a crucial role in providing and maintaining infrastructure.

Under previous regulations, county governments seeking to undertake PPP projects required approvals at both the devolved and national government level.

The 2021 PPP Act and the subsequent new regulations remove ambiguity regarding the participation of Counties and County Corporations in PPP projects.

Public Private Partnerships are expected to improve the devolved units’ scope to implement projects by incentivising players in the private sector to support the development projects.