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Government has acknowledged public concerns over infrastructure delivered under Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and announced reforms aimed at strengthening oversight, transparency and quality assurance in future projects.
Finance and National Planning Minister, Situmbeko Musokotwane, who also chairs the PPP Council, said government had taken seriously public commentary and observations from stakeholders, including the Engineering Institution of Zambia (EIZ), regarding infrastructure performance.
“Infrastructure failures are not acceptable,” Musokotwane said in the frequently asked questions on Zambia’s PPP framework, noting that concerns raised by engineers, the media and citizens had prompted government to strengthen the PPP framework.
He said while some infrastructure defects had raised questions about the PPP model, the issue was not the engineering capacity in Zambia but rather governance and implementation discipline.
“Zambia has competent engineers. The challenge is governance architecture, execution discipline, independent verification and enforcement consistency — not a deficit in technical knowledge,” Musokotwane said.
The Minister stressed that citizens had a right to demand accountability and value for money in public infrastructure projects.
“Citizens have every right to demand answers on durability, oversight and value for money,” he said, adding that public scrutiny was both legitimate and necessary.
Musokotwane also clarified that the PPP model itself remained an important development tool, particularly in mobilising private capital and accelerating infrastructure delivery.
“Properly structured and supervised PPPs remain an important development instrument. The issue arises when supervision, transparency or enforcement lag behind project scale,” he explained.
As part of the reforms, government has announced that independent consultants would now become mandatory for PPP projects, including those that begin before full financial closure.
“As Chairperson of the PPP Council, I state unequivocally that engagement of Independent Consultants will become a mandatory feature of project execution — including projects that commence ahead of full financial close,” Musokotwane said.
He explained that independent consultants would be funded through project earnings, including financing provided by concessionaires.
“The Independent Consultant is usually paid from the project earnings and where the concessionaire deploys equity to commence early works, part of that financing must support impartial third-party verification of standards, quality and compliance,” he said.
Government also indicated that while the reforms would primarily apply to future projects, existing contracts were being reviewed for appropriate remedial measures.
The minister also addressed concerns about alleged corruption in PPP road projects, stating that any specific allegations would be investigated by relevant law enforcement agencies.
“Any specific allegation will be investigated through the appropriate anti-corruption and law-enforcement agencies. The current model emphasizes transparency precisely to prevent such risks,” he said.
Government also clarified that approval of concession agreements involved multiple oversight institutions, including the PPP Council, Attorney General and Accountant General.
Looking ahead, Musokotwane said independent consultants would be engaged from the design stage to strengthen quality assurance and accountability.
“The reform mandates impartial technical oversight from the earliest feasible stages,” he said.
He added that concessionaires who failed to meet quality standards would face penalties, including enforcement of performance bonds and contractual remedies.
“Contracts contain clear remedies, penalties, step-in rights and performance bonds. Enforcement will be strengthened,” Musokotwane said.
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