Ghana's PPP Deals Must All Be Self-Funded By The Private-Sector Entities Bidding For Such Contracts

Many discerning Ghanaians will agree that governments of the day ought to protect Ghanaian entrepreneurs from unfair competition from foreign businesses - which is the plea from Mr. Joseph Adjapong the CEO of the Jospong Group:  in reacting to the negative publicity generated by the mandatory annual towing fee levy imposed on vehicle owners.

It is a real pity that Mr. Adjapong did not seem to understand the underlying reason for the public outcry by motorists against the deal between the previous government and his Road Safety Management Services Limited (RSMSL) that resulted in the passage of the Bill imposing that nandatory towing fee levy into law.

What would have been a much better PPP deal would have been one in which broken down vehicles are either repaired by agents of the towing company wherever they develop faults at to enable them resume their journeys again, or towed to the RSMSL's certified agents' repair workshops to be repaired.

Above all, to say that his business model for the RSMSL is similar to the now underfire Uber - a U.S. domiciled company with a  global footprint accused of so many negative management practices some bordering on the criminal - was most unfortunate. No PR professional worth his or her salt would have made such a statement at this moment of what is a potentially existential crisis for RSMSL.

Incidentally, Mr. Adjapong would be wise to leave all such responses to the professionals he employs, to carry out delicate reputational damage limitation tasks, when controversy erupts over the business deals he does with governments of the day.

As a wag I know said to me: "Yes, Mr. Adjapong is right in making the point that he is welcomed outside Ghana. Is he not a perfect crony-capitalist  bankroller for the leaders of those nations where he operates in Africa - whose cowed citizens would never dare challenge any law  passed to enrich their leaders and their crony-crony capitalist bankrolling pals. Ebeeii?"

No doubt some might also say that that it is a harsh  judgement on the nature of Mr. Adjapong's long-term strategy  for winning government contracts. Perhaps, looked at in detail, they might actually be right. Who knows?

However, whatever Mr. Adjaping says, clearly, it is not in the national interest for our leaders to be beholden to their crony-capitalist pals - who as a result of the power and influence they wield in Ghanaian society (because they have so many of our leaders in their very deep pockets), are able to lobby for the passage of legislation that increases their already high net worth yet further into the stratosphere, at the expense of Mother Ghana.

Alas, what Mr. Adjapong succeeded in doing in his public response to the many criticisms  of the mandatory road toll levy, was to paint a picture of a crony capitalist profiting mightily from the socialisation of private risk.

Yet, the plain truth is that our nation does not need such iniquitous  public private partnership (PPP) deals. What Mother Ghana needs are entirely private-sector funded,  win-win PPPs, in which the private-sector bears all the risks in exchange for protected market access opportunities.

As a remedy to cure the clearly defective law that was allegedly passed  because Mr. Adjapong was a crony-capitalist pal of the previous regime - who also apparently bankrolled other individual politicians from across the spectrum - the government must renegotiate the deal with RSMSL so that it is restructured not on the discredited Uber's business model, but that of the UK's Automobile Association (AA) and Royal Automobile Club (RAC), as regards the benefits it offers vehicle owners who pay it.

FinaIly, after the present mandatory PPP towing fee levy deal with RSMSL expires, only widely advertised and transparent self-funded PPP bids from companies across the globe (with Ghanaian partners), ought to be entertained for all PPP deals in Ghana. Enough is enough. Period. Haaba.