The Effect of Public-Private Partnership in Rural Infrastructure Provision: An Exploratory Study of Anambra State Local Government System Performance

Abstract

The need to improve the infrastructure provision at the local government level in Nigeria has become imperative. The expectation of the citizens from government to meet their needs for the basic infrastructural provision has remained on the increase in recent times. The study is an effort to determine the effect of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) as strategic option in providing rural infrastructures in Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State. The study aims at finding out what is on the ground in terms of standard of rural infrastructures and how best the services can be improved upon in order to reduce poverty, disease, hunger and unemployment in Anambra State and Nigeria in general. In order to achieve the objective, the researcher drew a sample size of 85 respondents using Yaro Yammane mathematical tool while questionnaire size per distributive areas was arrived at by proportional equal allocation. Item ployed both primary and secondary methods of data collection. Data were analysed by using simple percentages, tables, figures, descriptive statistics and illustrative graphs while exploring some of the relevant theories like the Principal/Agency theory as his explanatory tool. Three hypotheses were formulated and tested using chi-square(x²) method. In the light of the Agency theory framework, the findings revealed that the application of PPP strategy in rural infrastructural provision was moderately achieved in the Local Government Area. Also, further discoveries indicated that the basic economic infrastructures remain in adequate due to poor funding, corruption, undue political interferences by the state, inefficient management, inconsistent legal framework among others. It was recommended that the PPP arrangement should be adequately funded, corruption check-mated through all instituted measures, undue political interferences by the state avoided while creating an enabling investment climate for the PPP arrangements to thrive.