Engaging Communities in Public Private Partnerships in the Delivery of Basic Services to the Poor: Comparative Study of Inter-Country Models and Outcomes

Mukherjee A¹*

1. United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asian and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand

I. The Problematic

Asia is home to over 800 million poor people living on less than US$1 per day, an overwhelming majority of whom have no access to basic services: primary healthcare, basic education, shelter, drinking water and sanitation. While governments, are ultimately responsible for providing basic services to every citizen, in the face of competing priorities, they are neither always best suited nor have the resources to do so. On the other hand, the private sector, despite having the expertise, capacity and capability, are often not motivated to supplying basic services to the poor, as it does not make good business sense.

Granted that, four models of pro-poor public-private partnerships (PP-PPPs) with target communities as a centre stage partner, have been developed in Indonesia, Pakistan Sri Lanka, and Thailand as alternative means of providing basic services, combining the authority and credibility of the public sector; the financial prowess and entrepreneurial skills of the private sector and the resources (social, human, financial, political and psychological capital) of the poor themselves. The four models in Indonesia, Pakistan Sri Lanka, and Thailand provide poor with access to energy, bio-diversity, water and anti-retroviral drugs respectively.

II. The Paper

This paper analyses how the communities were engaged and integrated into these ventures in different environments and how the engagement of the communities dramatically changed the nature of the outcomes of the pro-poor public-private partnerships in these countries. While in the PP-PPP energy project the communities have changed the outcome of the venture to social development, the communities in Thailand have changed the outcome of the project to social rehabilitation of people living with HIV/AIDS. Similarly the communities in Pakistan have altered the outcome of the venture from access to bio-diversity from ex-situ to both in-situ and ex-situ conservation of bio-diversity.

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