European Union financed Support to the National Assembly Project trains Members of the Committee on Economic Affairs, Energy and Labour on the implementation of Public Private Partnerships in Zambia.

Mazabuka Central Member of Parliament, Honourable Gary Nkombo, MP, who was acting Chairperson of the Committee on Economic Affairs, Energy and Labour, implored Members of the Committee to understand the implementation of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) policy in Zambia as the Committee engages stakeholders during the upcoming meetings.

 

He said this when he officially opened the Capacity Enhancement Workshop for the consideration of the topical issue; " Implementation of the Public Private Partnership in Zambia," that was held at Intercontinental Hotel, Lusaka from 14th to 15th January, 2017. The workshop was organised by the European Union Support to the National Assembly of Zambia Project.

He noted that PPP is not only a topical issue in Zambia, but also across the globe as most governments are now leveraging on PPPs to finance infrastructure and social projects to support economic growth. He further noted that the topic was timely as it was in line with the pronouncements that were made by the Honourable Minister of Finance that the Government will take advantage of the various Public Private Partnership models to finance infrastructure projects in light of the fiscal challenges faced by the country.

The main objective of the workshop was to sensitise Members of Parliament on the topic before meeting with stakeholders to discuss pros and cons of various Public Private Partnership models. The workshop  was also aimed at providing a platform for Members of the Committee to understand the risk factors related to implementing Public Private Partnership models and how such risk factors can be mitigated upon to avoid undue exposure of the Country.

The discussions were centered around the following topics as presented by various experts:

1.    Understanding PPP transactions;

2.    Understanding various contracts associated with PPP infrastructure projects;

3.    Understanding risk allocation and mitigation strategy for a standard infrastructure project; and

4.    Case studies.

The Support to the National Assembly Project intends to enhance economic governance in Zambia through improved public financial management, strengthened accountability processes and increased management for results.