He said municipalities should “creatively respond to the challenge of infrastructure development rather than waiting endlessly on the government”.
Speaking at a validation workshop on the draft national public private partnership policy forum held at Kairaba Beach Hotel, he added: “Even the developed and wealthy countries of the world actively promote extra-budgetary funding of public infrastructure through public-private partnership .A crucial challenge we must undertake for the medium to long term is modernisation of infrastructure (pillar two of Page) to create jobs and uplift the quality of life of our populace. For the implementation of PAGE, it is projected that it will cost GMD 25.77 billion to implement,the government is committed to contribute 35% of this bill with the private sector and donors expected to fill the remaining gap of 65%.
Major public infrastructure projects undertaken through PPPs in developed countries include the Airport Lake, Cross-City Tunnel, Lake Gov Tunnel, Sydney Harbour Tunnel and M2 Hills Motorway in Sydney and the 407 ETR toll road in Toronto. This clearly is also the route for us to go in Africa where we are confronted with exceedingly more severe crises of public finance. It is our collective responsibility to build on the impressive strides registered by the government since 1994 and transform our infrastructure challenges from obstacles to catalysts of poverty alleviation and sustainable development .To achieve this it requires a positive and dynamic partnership between the public and private sectors”.
GCCI CEO, Alieu Secka explained: “The objective of this forum is to build more effective and catalytic partnerships between the government, businesses, and civil society to achieve sustainable and inclusive development (in other words help to deliver PAGE and Vision 2016).We have clearly heard the President/ Government’s call for Vision 2016, as well as the numerous statements that the private sector is the engine of growth in so many proclamations .We expect the PPP Forum to help calibrate and re-focus the draft policy and other efforts to maximise the private sector’s development impact; increase trust and accountability among development actors; and support the integration of sustainable development into core operations and business models. PPP is an emerging paradigm in development finance led by sustainable private sector finance, supported by the government and other development partners.
“Meaningful partnerships are the foundation for success and what enables governments, top companies and entrepreneurs to make continuous improvements by sharing with others. Our common objectives must demonstrate that both sides ensure public services are delivered in the most economical, effective and efficient manner and to create opportunities for private sector growth and to contribute to the overall economic development through the stimulation of competitiveness and initiative”.
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