The Role of Stakeholders in the Adoption of Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) in Municipal Water Infrastructure Projects: A Stakeholder Theory Perspective

Abstract

South Africa receives insufficient rainfall to meet citizens’ water needs and this is compounded by deficiencies in infrastructure for water services because of inadequate investment and a lack of maintenance. Municipal public–private partnerships (PPPs) for water infrastructure are rarely utilised for several reasons. Central to this paper is the evaluation of the role played by various stakeholders in influencing the adoption and subsequent approval of municipal water PPP projects. This study critically examined the role of each stakeholder and how other stakeholders perceive their effectiveness during the approval process of water PPP projects. The conceptualisation and implementation of PPPs involves managing both the public and private stakeholders to achieve the desired outcomes. These diverse stakeholders have different values, anchored by the need for rent extraction (profit maximisation motive) or self-interest, as advanced by stakeholder theory. By means of structured interviews, participants highlighted the limitations of each stakeholder and how these contribute to the negative perception of future PPPs. The obtained data were triangulated with secondary sources. The findings confirmed the pursuit of self-interest by various stakeholders, impacting the pace of PPP adoption of municipal water projects.