Despite its strategic location, Tunisia is not today on the radars of major investors. The idea of promoting
major projects in priority sectors in public-private partnership (PPP) mode, with a view to achieving sustainable development objectives, would be a relevant and timely step in the right direction, which needs to be considered, because the State does not does not have all the necessary resources.
The PPP is a complex and often long process that involves multiple actors, skills and above all the will to manage resistance to change and it is vital to restore investor confidence, because, in the absence of a stable political and institutional environment, no one would want to take high risks.
In a debate organized recently, the Ibn Khaldoun Forum for Development revealed the various difficulties that hinder the development of the desired PPP in Tunisia. Slim Zghal, CEO of Altéa packaging, member of the Arab Institute of Business Leaders (Iace) and of the Board of Directors of the General Instance of Public-Private Partnership, as well as Atef Mejdoub, Chairman of the Board of the STB and president of the Igppp, gave an exhaustive presentation on the inventory of fixtures of the PPP process which proves to be “unsatisfactory”.
Projects of interest, impact and profitability to be reviewed
Among the PPPs and concession projects undertaken so far, which have met with varying success and deserve to be assessed, are the Rades power station, the Enfida airport, the bus transport concession, the oil concessions, El Bouhaira Invest.
Among the pending projects: electricity production by solar photovoltaics, sanitation in Tunis-Ouest, the deep-water port of Enfidha, heritage management (Karraka).
Similarly, unsuccessful calls for tenders are on the bill: digitization of assets by the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries, the Radès logistics platform, the IT projects of the Ministry of Vocational Training and Employment.
Projects of variable and questionable maturity, interest, impact and profitability, numerous but to be reviewed.
The speakers insisted on the latent resistance on the part of some administrations and companies, some trade unions and parties due to the opacity of certain signed contracts, suspicions of corruption and undue enrichment, fear of privatization of public goods and the increase in the price of services provided to the consumer in relation to purchasing power.
A special regime for PPPs
Suffice to say that PPPs are necessary for different reasons. They can, to a certain extent, balance the state budget. They have a certain capacity for execution within the given deadlines, and can be facilitators of the decentralization of decisions. They can also quickly unlock some profitable projects, take charge of complicated emergencies (waste management, water resources, sanitation, urban transport) which fuel a certain social tension. They are able to materialize old projects (deep-water port, sanitation of Tunis-Ouest, slurry pipeline for phosphates) and even some disruptive ideas: new mode of management of public services in disadvantaged areas, carbon funds to operationalize the Paris agreements.
A special regime for PPPs in the finance law is needed, as well as a PPP preparation fund, because the public sector does not know how to do it. Such a fund would benefit from being fed by the proceeds of existing concessions (217 in number generating some 145 million DT).
Moreover, the State must not resign, by neglecting its obligations once the contract is signed with the private sector, because it must prevent any unfair competition at the expense of the latter.
The Tunisian financial sector is fragile, as well as the public companies, and it would be necessary to clean up before restructuring. The budgetary side is not the most decisive in complex PPP projects. Indeed, management turns out to be more important than financing and, to do this, Tunisia would need competent guides.
It also requires trust, because, with PPPs, forecasting is difficult (unlike calls for tenders which only concern equipment purchases) and failures are always possible.
To conclude, it is appropriate to recall that public-private partnerships (PPP) can play an important role in inclusive and sustainable growth in Tunisia if the right conditions are successful. For this, Tunisia should become more aware that the PPP is a powerful factor in the transfer of technology and innovation and that it ensures a rent which always benefits the State and provides the funds necessary for the preparation and management projects that require substantial human and financial resources.
It must also introduce more agility into the texts governing PPPs in order to stimulate investments in strategic infrastructure that economic development badly needs, improve the management of the public component of partnership projects, otherwise their shortcomings will subsequently be denounced. by the private party, at the risk of weakening the entire project.
Other recommendations put forward which consist in ensuring the regular updating of the institutional scheme for PPPs while strengthening the capacity of the National PPP Authority and clarifying its role: the Inppp must be able to issue detailed opinions to all parties stakeholders (ministries, public enterprises, regional authorities, civil societies, trade unions) during the development, tendering and execution phases of the projects.
(Source : FIKD)
