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Decentralizing Infrastructure Services : Lessons from the East Asia Experience
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2007-02) Elisa Muzzini
Decentralization is the transfer of responsibilities from the central government to subnational agencies empowered to act as increasingly autonomous entities within their geographical and functional domains. In theory, decentralizing infrastructure services can deliver efficiency gains when service benefits accrue mainly to the local population-such as in water and sanitation, urban transit, and waste management. Subnational agencies are indeed better placed than the central government to tailor infrastructure services to the needs of local constituencies (allocative efficiency) and deliver them at lower costs (productive efficiency). In practice, the economic benefits of decentralized infrastructure services are by no means a given, as they are contingent upon effective coordination among tiers of governments (regional coordination) and accountability mechanisms for results achieved.
The Abidjan-Ouagadougou Railway Concession
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 1999-08) Budin, Karim-Jacques; Mitchell, Brigitta
Since the 1980s, most Sub-Saharan African railways have been experiencing a severe crisis: declining traffic and revenue, lack of market orientation and poor service, continued operation of high-loss passenger services, poor maintenance, gross overstaffing, lack of technical and financial discipline, and heavy financial losses. Attempts to 'restructure' railways as public entities have generally failed. Involvement of the private sector in railway operations under a concession arrangement now seems to be a promising tool for transforming railways into business-oriented enterprises. The concession technique, successfully applied in Latin America, was used for the first time in Sub-Saharan Africa in Cote d'Ivoire and Burkina, who jointly concessioned the Abidjan-Ouagadougou railway to a private operator in December 1994.
Developing Africa's Transport : The Shifting Paradigm
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 1998-07) Watson, Peter
Providing effective and efficient infrastructure underpins all attempts to reduce poverty. Trade is the engine of economic growth, and reliable and efficient transport is essential for successful trade. Transport is needed to facilitate production and exchanges, enable farmers to produce and bring their products to markets, and provide the basis for private investment. The poor state of transport infrastructure impedes Africa's development and obstructs poverty reduction. Introducing the private sector into managing and financing transport infrastructure in Africa cannot be approached as a classical private sector development case. It requires special attention to address issues linked to public, private partnerships in the region. Investments in African transport infrastructure are vulnerable to political risks, including governmental reneging on regulatory commitments. Establishing an adequate legal and regulatory framework will help build trust with the business community and specify clear rules and procedures. This framework will ease the constraints on mobilizing local finance by introducing risk-reducing mechanisms.