On the sidelines of Michaëlle Jean’s visit to Benin, the OIF organized, from 12 to 15 December 2017 in Cotonou, a technical workshop on public-private partnerships for development financing, in collaboration with the Ministry of the Economy and Finance of Benin. As part of the activities of the Network of Finance Ministers of Low-Income Francophone Countries, it brought together some forty senior officials from the administrations of 16 Francophone countries responsible for PPPs and their financial evaluation, as well as experts from ” around ten international and regional organizations, technical partners, independent lawyers representing the French-speaking Parliamentary Assembly. On the basis of their very diverse experiences, they discussed four subjects considered key by the finance ministers to implement this method of carrying out public projects in a prudent and controlled manner: the legal and institutional framework; the assessment of the costs and risks of PPPs and their impact on public finances; the negotiation and renegotiation of these complex contracts; transparency and accountability to citizens and parliaments. The various sessions made it possible to highlight the fundamental rules, analyzes and procedures for preparing a partnership project of this type, getting involved in it and monitoring it throughout its life. The discussions underlined the importance of having solid and plural skills, of devoting time to feasibility studies, of carrying out comprehensive cost and risk analyzes, or of ensuring that the PPP is indeed the best solution to achieve the planned project, beyond its ability to defer public spending over time. Countries then defined their priority assistance needs to implement PPPs. With the exception of countries which are in the process of or want to define a legal and institutional framework to supervise these partnerships, the two themes which appeared to be priorities are the analysis of costs and risks and the negotiation and renegotiation of contracts, followed by transparency and accountability. The conclusions of the workshop will feed into the ministers’ reflection and will be relayed to the institutions responsible for strengthening the human and institutional capacities of the countries and providing them with technical assistance in the various areas addressed.
