The 5th Regional Forum of the Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS on public-private partnerships has met in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, with some twenty recommendations on the effective implementation to accelerate the development of regional infrastructure.
The participants, comprising mainly representatives from ECOWAS member states, regional institutions, the private sector, civil society organisations, private investors, technical and financial partners, and experts in public-private partnerships, PPPs, recommended the gradual harmonisation of regulatory frameworks relating to PPPs within the ECOWAS region in order to facilitate cross-border investment.
A report published on the ECOWAS Commission website which was also made available to newsmen, indicated that participants encouraged the regional organisation’s member states to pursue the necessary institutional, legal and regulatory reforms with a view to improving the investment climate and strengthening the legal certainty of PPP projects.
The participants commended the ECOWAS Commission’s initiative to strengthen dialogue between the public and private sectors in order to accelerate regional infrastructure development and called for the “continued annual organisation of such forums, with a view to ensuring the continuity of discussions and the sharing of experiences on the various aspects of PPPs”.
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The 5th forum emphasised the importance of project preparation for the successful delivery of regional infrastructure; and recognised that unsolicited proposals can act as a catalyst for the development of such infrastructure and an ideal vehicle for innovation, efficiency and the mobilisation of resources where public capacity is limited.
It also recommended a “thorough assessment of unsolicited proposals and the adoption of clear regulatory frameworks governing such proposals, specifically ensuring the transparency of procedures, fair competition, optimisation of value for public money, the prevention of conflicts of interest and the protection of the public interest.”
A resolution encourages the ECOWAS Commission to support its Member States in developing a database of unsolicited proposals in the region, in order to monitor and share information relating to them.
Another resolution adopted by the forum emphasised the imperative need to integrate environmental, social and governance criteria from the very outset of the design, evaluation and contracting phases of PPP projects.
Similarly, the forum proposed the “systematic integration of climate and resilience analyses, the promotion of gender equality and social inclusion, the consideration of environmental impacts throughout the life cycle of projects, and the strengthening of mechanisms for monitoring environmental, social and governance performance.”.
Other recommendations from this 5th forum focused on the one hand, the development of bankable regional projects that meet international standards in terms of governance, economic viability, environmental sustainability and social inclusion, and, on the other hand, on increased participation by small and medium-sized enterprises, local businesses, young people and women in the value chains generated by PPP projects.
“The development of innovative guarantee, risk-sharing and credit enhancement instruments to attract private capital, as well as the integration of the principles of transparency, good governance, accountability and the fight against corruption into all phases of PPP projects, are also among the forum’s recommendations”.
The forum called on regional and international financial institutions to step up their technical and financial support for the region’s key infrastructure projects, the forum also called for the establishment of innovative financing mechanisms to mobilize more private capital and public savings, particularly for transport, energy, water, health, education and digital infrastructure.
Through other resolutions, participants called for the effective operationalisation of the ECOWAS Regional Infrastructure Fund and reaffirmed their commitment to promoting resilient, inclusive, sustainable and job-creating infrastructure, with a view to contributing to West Africa’s economic integration.
“They called for the involvement of credit rating agencies and for independent risk assessments to be incorporated into the project preparation phase; and emphasized the need to strengthen the capacity of public administrations in the preparation, evaluation, negotiation and monitoring of PPP contracts”.
The meeting recommended improving the regional legal framework to enable greater participation by insurance companies and the creation of regional bonds to finance infrastructure.
It also encouraged ECOWAS Member States to promote financing in local currency with a view to reducing exchange rate risks, improving the financial sustainability of projects and boosting regional financial markets.
At the conclusion of the meeting, participants expressed their gratitude to the ECOWAS Commission, the ECOWAS Project Preparation and Development Unit technical and financial partners, professional organizations and speakers for the quality of the discussions and their commitment to the development of PPPs in West Africa.
