Accounting for Sectoral Variances in Public Private Partnerships for Sustainable Development: A Case Study of Kenya (2013-2018)

Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) are considered an integral avenue for the pursuit of Kenya‟s development agenda. They are seen as a vehicle through which the government encourages and involves the private sector through investments in projects and services, give better value for money and transfer significant risk and management to the private sector. The adoption of the PPP arrangement by Kenya was prompted by the increasing demand for quality and affordable services from citizens, expansion of the economy and stimulation of job creation. The adoption of this policy has widely been lauded. However there is need to evaluate how these PPPs can be utilized in order to achieve the 2030 sustainable development agenda. This study examined the sectoral variances in public private partnerships for sustainable development in Kenya, with a specific interest in the transport and infrastructure sector, energy sector and the agriculture sector. By focusing on the sectoral variances in public private partnerships in Kenya, this study analyzed the available literature on how to measure success of PPPs, the various models of PPP, cost benefits of PPPs and the role of multilateral lenders in PPPs. This study used qualitative method of data collection and made use of both primary and secondary methods of data collection. The primary method of data collection applied structured interviews which were collected from the PPP Unit, the World Bank and the Africa Development Bank. The study also utilized secondary data from PPP Unit documents, World Bank and Africa Development Bank documents as well as other material. The findings indicate that economic infrastructure projects are preferred by the private sector as compared to social infrastructure projects. The findings also indicate that the PPP procurement method is still a new concept hence there is a lot that needs to be done in terms of advisory, institution building and technical assistance, and the World Bank and Africa Development Bank have been instrumental in building up the PPP practice in Kenya.