Privatising Basic Utilities in Africa: a Rejoinder

Abstract

In their IPC Policy Research Brief on “Privatising Basic Utilities in Sub-Saharan Africa: the MDG Consequences”, Bayliss and McKinley are right to argue that (i) few private investors have taken much interest in water and electricity firms in Africa and of those that have, many have done a poor job; (ii) African governments were pushed into accepting private participation in basic infrastructure by international financial institutions and donors; (iii) African governments still own and operate the bulk of the water and electricity sectors and public ownership in these crucial areas will continue for the foreseeable future; (iv) a larger percentage of the desperately needed capital to rehabilitate and expand these networks has to come from internal and ‘official’—i.e., donor—sources; and (v) efforts to improve the operation of publicly-owned water and electricity firms have to be redoubled. (...)No seu IPC Policy Research Brief 1 sobre “A privatização de serviços de utilidade pública básicos