By; ALEX UANGBAOJE, Kaduna
Following Kaduna State Government’s plan to develop Public Private Partnership (PPP), to strengthen coordination for effective management of the health sector, Dr. Chukwuma Katchy, a lead consultant of the project has warned that if the entire processes are not strictly followed and adhered to, the partnership might fail.
The PPP, expert who spoke in Zaria on Friday during a Technical Session to Review and Validate the State PPP for Health Sector Policy, organised by the Ministry of Health, supported by UKaid through Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL), a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), project in Nigeria, noted that if the partnership with the private sector is gotten correctly, then there would be an avalanche of PPPs in other sector in the state.
He said the reasons government go into PPP, includes; insufficient funds for required development projects, efficiency in governance, timely completion of projects within budget timeline, sustainability of projects It enables govt. It also enable government to embark on more projects at the same time rather than waiting till government has all the money, amongst others.
Dr. Katchy, emphasized that PPP, is not philanthropy but investment, therefore the private partners are expected to make profit from their investment but that government in signing agreement with them should ensure the investors dont take too much from the citizens.
He said because the investors are the ones putting their money into state projects, key risks in terms of losses are transferred to them because they have to suffer financial lost if the business goes wrong or the partnership fails.
He therefore called on the government allay the fears of the private sector by providing a platform to discuss every issue they might raise because private sector exist for profit.
The Consultant, also assured that PPP in health sector will not lead to job loss as some people may perceive it, and advised the government to sit down with various stakeholders to resolve all grey areas before the full take-off of the policy.
In his remarks, Dr. Addo Zakari, Director Medical Services, who spoke on behalf of the State Commissioner of Health, Amina Mohammed Baloni, said the policy should have come long before now because of the high number of infrastructures that are required in the state.
