ETHICAL RISKS IN PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS: THE CASE OF LAHORE WASTE MANAGEMENT COMPANY

Abstract

The world is coming up with new solutions to old problemsin orderto improve efficiency and effectiveness in public service delivery. Public-Private Partnership (PPP) isarelatively new form of participatory governance. This approach is linked with New Public Management (NPM) and, since its inception, the private sector has taken over the entire world despite incongruence and incompatibility in indigenous values and cultures. PPPis also claimed to be the best solution in terms of service delivery; however, its effectiveness is yet to be achieved. The purpose of this study is to find the effectiveness ofthePPP mode of governance. This study is qualitative in nature and has taken one entity based on PPP as a case,i.e. Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC),in orderto study the impact of this solution to all,theills of public service delivery. Fourteen officialswere interviewed in this studyof LWMC (a quasi-governmental institution) and its private partners. Findings suggest that this PPP mode has major ethical risks in the form of lack of transparency in awarding contracts, equity-efficiency trade-off, overall conflict of philosophy of public and private sector, low professionalism, value for money (compromise on cost and quality), and weak accountability mechanisms.