Title: Failure to create public value through privatisation: a case study of Uganda

Authors: Moses Mulengani

Addresses: MolanLinks, P.O. Box 1662, Jinja, Uganda

Abstract: Employing secondary data, the study examined the public value created by privatisation process in developing countries. It explored the privatisation reform and the impact of privatisation on the quality of service delivery in Uganda as a case study from 1992 until 2004. The findings showed little progress on the socio-economic welfare of the majority of Ugandans, with benefits being achieved by a few rich people, foreigners and managers of the process. Privatisation did not fulfil its intentions since 1992 because: the government did not adequately facilitate citizen|s participation in the process; privatisation was a conditionality reform driven by the World Bank and IMF which caused deviations from the overall priorities of improving services to merely disposing off public enterprises and the process lacked transparency, thus, exposed the process to corruption. It was also observed that though privatisation improved the efficiency and profitability of individual enterprises, there were no benefits realised by communities.

Keywords: privatisation; public value; private sector; Uganda; state-owned enterprises; SOEs; structural adjustment programmes; SAPs; public enterprises; public sector; performance management; developing countries; service delivery; public policy; socio-economic welfare; World Bank; International Monetary Fund; IMF; transparency; corruption; profitability; citizen participation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPSPM.2009.029119

International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management, 2009 Vol.1 No.3, pp.260 - 274

Published online: 04 Nov 2009 *

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