The impact of private-public partnership on municipal disaster risk reduction in South Africa : a case study of the Business-Adopt-a-Municipality initiative

Abstract

Local government is the sphere of government that is closest to the people and it is expected to provide basic services to communities. The provision of services usually involves facing many challenges, including a lack of adequate funding, because some of the municipalities struggle to raise the necessary revenue to supplement the budget allocated through the equitable share and other government grants. Another challenge that hampers the provision of services is the shortage of skills and the inability to attract personnel to work in municipalities that are regarded as rural municipalities. Disaster risk reduction (DDR) is not immune to these challenges. While it is a critical element of service delivery, it is in most instances underfunded or the funds allocated to it are channelled to other services. Furthermore, the lack of skills has also compromised efficiency when it comes to implementation of proactive strategies that mainstream DDR. Public-Private Partnership is widely regarded as the answer to improving service delivery and assisting the municipalities to overcome the challenges that compromise the effectiveness of the government when it comes to service provision. This is because the private sector is regarded as an important stakeholder in government business, as private businesses have the necessary resources and human capital. Therefore, PPPs require government to create an avenue whereby it will forge partnerships with private entities in order to share combined resources and address community challenges. The success of PPPs in areas such as DRR is dependent on the observation of and commitment to good governance principles by ensuring that there is accountability that all stakeholders are able to participate freely, that there is decency and transparency, and that there is common goal of efficiency. DRR is a multi-stakeholder processes that is supported by a legislative framework to ensure that that all sectors of society are provided a platform to assist municipalities to execute their DRR mandate effectively. As such, private entities can find expression in disaster management processes; namely, disaster preparedness, disaster response, disaster recovery and disaster mitigation. In this regard, it has become important to evaluate how PPPs might be mainstreamed in DRR and to identify which model might be applicable in the implementation of PPPs in DRR. The key goals of this study were to establish the theoretical basis for PPPs and to establish whether the theory presented an opportunity to align PPP with DRR. In this regard, a case of Business-Adopt-A-Municipality (BAAM) was evaluated with the aim of determining the impact this initiative had on municipal DRR. In order to gain a deeper understanding of the link between PPPs and DRR, a qualitative approach was adopted in the collections of data. This approach provided a clear picture of how PPPs can enhance the way municipalities provide services or execute their DRR mandate, and address issues such as skills shortages. Finally, the recommendations are focused on the need to strengthen policy or legislative frameworks in order to standardise the implementation of PPPs in municipal DRR. Furthermore, they are focused on the need to establish and strengthen institutional capacity that will ensure the implementation of PPPs in DRR and put in place the strategic framework that will provide space for public-private collaborations