Privatization policy choice and its implications on private sector participation in primary infrastructure investment in Sub-Saharan Africa

In the past decade, some insightful appraisal of public policy in line with the primary infrastructure sectors globally with a tangible shift in direction towards private management and ownership. A significant change in the perception of the roles of the public and private sectors in infrastructure development has taken centre stage in past decade. Meanwhile, the option of private sector participation in infrastructure services has become a key strategy. However, these reforms have promoted the desired levels of expectations in Africa as a continent. In conformity, great inroads have been made in the telecommunication sector, which raises the issue of a gap between the suitability of prescribed policy and the country’s specific institutional frameworks. Notwithstanding, Africa’s diverse experience and the exceptional socioeconomic circumstances is such that policy preconditions that are imperative for successful liberalization and privatization are hardly met. Therefore, this study evaluates privatization policy choice by appraising the private sector investment participation in infrastructure (PPI) in sub-Saharan Africa in view of the fact that there is reliable knowledge around the world from which lessons can be drawn from. Infrastructure privatization ought to be viewed as a basic means to an end, and not ideally an end in itself. given, its main objective is to perpetuate an efficient sector that delivers quality service. These can be achieved in the background of a suitable market mechanism that is well structured with a properly defined regulatory system. The findings can be attributed to the results of a regulatory reform, implementation of the private sector participation policy, combined with the influx of private entity’s investment in the primary infrastructure that has yielded a spectrum of mixed results that is reliable for redesigning future policy for implementation. Ultimately, PPI as demonstrated in this paper has a significant role in promoting investment relative to the suitability of the economic environment and investment portfolio that appeals to the regulatory framework in place. -- Relevance to Development Studies-- Privatization policy choice has a crucial role in addressing widespread challenges to economic conditions associated with large fiscal deficits in poorly performing SOEs .hence; privatization has the potential to minimize misrepresentation in resource allocation and moderate budget deficits. In practise increased investment, can be attributed to intensified efforts of creating an enabling environment that propagates confidence in the feasibility of amicable policy framework and its incorporation into other public policies. Ideally, this enhances efficiency of resource allocation via sound contract enforcement regulation, which is an incentive for more private sector investment and increased accessibility of private sector to financial resources.