Private Sector Participation

The thought that my hometown is wallowing under mounds of solid waste is disturbing as it is unecessary (see http://www.eastandard.net/environment/InsidePage.php?id=1144011609&cid=467&). The Ministry of Local Government or NEMA ought to have come up with 'good practices' that local authorities should emulate. There are many case studies of successful waste collection schemes all over the place! The central government and local authorities seem to have resigned to contracting out solid waste collection and disposal services. There is essentially nothing wrong with that only that private sector participation entails a number of things: sharing of invetments, risk, responsibility and reward between partners. Before becoming involved in public-private partnerships, a local authority must make certian adjustments to exisitng processes and arrangement for effective partnership. For example, the local authrotity should develop or access expertise necessary to evaluate, negotiate and implement the scheme. As the Eldoret Municipal Council should have learnt by now, even negotiating with street children requires certain competencies which may or may not reside within the council. So, consult consult and consult. Secondly, establish policies to guide decisions on public private participation. Unless there is a structured way of making decisions a council will underperform! Lastly, establish procedures that enable effective evaluation of delivery of service. This is the only way to determine if the council and by extension, the community is getting value for money.