Public-private partnerships and African development: The case of the N4 toll road

In the current era where neo-liberalism remains hegemonic as the guiding ideology for economic projects, there has been a qualitative shift from using the state as the prime engine of development. The emergence of the public-private partnership approach in providing the supply and/or renovation of infrastructural projects in itself reflects the hegemony of neo-liberalism in the current era. With its emphasis on low public expenditure and a concentration on trade deficit reduction and low national debt, the call to increasingly involve the private sector in supplying services formerly provided by the state has become almost universalised. The actual road varies from a single lane to four lanes. Whilst parts of the existing road have been simply renovated, considerable widening, for instance on the road as it approaches Ressano Garcia, has been conducted. The activities of local politicians and their populist grandstanding were also found to be problematic.