Seychelles develops Public Private Partnership framework with technical assistance from the African Development Bank (AFDB) and the Investment Climate Facility for Africa (ICF)
July 21, 2016
The Government of Seychelles is in the process of putting in place a comprehensive legal, regulatory and operational framework for Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) with the support of AFDB and ICF.
The main objective of the framework is to improve the business environment for PPP’s and encourage private sector participation in the provision of Public infrastructure and services in the country.
A national PPP policy has already been developed and approved by the cabinet under the first component of the technical assistance and has been funded by ICF. The policy provides clear guidelines and principles to both the public and private sector for the implementation of PPP projects so as to ensure project success and value for money for the public. The PPP policy will be officially launch in a stakeholder’s forum to be held later this year.
The Ministry of Finance, Trade and the Blue Economy which is leading the reform has already started the procurement process for a consulting firm for the development of a PPP regulatory and operational framework being funded by AFDB. The regulatory framework will provide transparent and clear rules, clear lines of authority, responsibility and accountability for both public and private sector in PPP arrangements whilst the operational framework will provide for a strong institutional structure which will ensure viable PPP projects are identified, efficiently managed and implemented.
The reform which also includes capacity building for the public sector as well as knowledge sharing and consultations with the private sector is for a total amount of USD 748,020. The African Development Bank is contributing US$ 554,020, ICF US$ 114,000 and the Government of Seychelles is contributing a value of US$ 60,000.
AFDB has always been an important and continuous development partner for Seychelles, providing technical assistance in a number of reform areas and funding development projects. The PPP framework is the first project which ICF is funding in Seychelles and is part of a larger initiative to improve the investment climate in the country. Other projects being funded by ICF under the above initiative are revision of the Financial Institutions Act, revision of the Companies Act and investment guidelines reform.
ICF is an international development institution with headquarters in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. The ICF approach is built on forging strong partnerships and building effective coalitions with businesses and governments to identify and implement priority projects that drive Africa’s investment climate. ICF works with governments to create a conducive legal, regulatory and administrative environment for businesses at all levels to invest, grow and create jobs.