Factors for Implementing Public-Private Partnership (PPP) in the Development Process: Stakeholders’ Perspective from Ethiopia

This paper presents the findings of a study that assessed factors for adopting PPP in public service delivery and development projects in Ethiopia. A questionnaire survey was conducted considering professionals and practitioners from different institutions. The survey respondents were selected individuals with hands-on experience in PPP related issues and private sector development programs. They were asked to rate the relative importance of the identified six factors on the basis of Likert scale style. The data were analyzed using econometrics software - Stata version 12 to calculate mean score ranking, and an independent sample t-test. The findings of the top three ranks were investigated. Ranked top by the survey respondents was the ‘existence of PPP specific legal framework (MS=4.8), followed by ‘Existence of PPP dedicated Public Agency’ (MS=4.6), and the third was ‘Government Guarantee’ (MS=4.6). The rankings show that in general the prevalence of legal and institutional framework and also governments’ willingness to provide ‘guarantee’ are the most important factors for the implementation of PPP in development projects and public service delivery activities. The mean comparison test result shows the presence of significant difference in three factors among the private and public sector respondents. These findings provide an idea of the factors that could attract potential partners to engage in PPP projects. The findings indicate that the stakeholders from different sectors and levels have more or less similar perception and opinion regarding how the government should attract partners to engage in PPP arrangements in the process of development and public service delivery.