GI-ESCR contributed to "History RePPPeated II: Why public-private partnerships are not the solution"

The report History RePPPeated II: Why public-private partnerships are not the solution features seven in-depth investigations into PPPs across a range of sectors, from healthcare and education to roads and water supplies. The case studies are written by experts working in each region*, including GI-ESCR, who contributed to research in the state of Education in Liberia.

The report found that all of the projects investigated came at a high cost for the public purse and posed an excessive risk for the public sector. They resulted in a questionable diversion of public funds, particularly during the Covid-19 crisis in most cases. Some of the projects also caused serious environmental harm while others had serious impacts on women in particular. All of the PPPs investigated lacked transparency and/or failed to consult with affected communities. 

Our contribution was about the case study on the education PPP in Liberia.

‘The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the fragility and lack of resilience of this education PPP. At the height of the pandemic, and like many for-profit operators of schools in other parts of the world,  Bridge ‘abandoned’ its students and teachers in Liberia, shut down schools and cut teachers’ salaries by 80-90 per cent despite being paid by government. It did the same in Kenya. Prior to this, Bridge engaged in mass retrenchments of teachers in Liberia.  This demonstrates the ways in which education PPPs can weaken systems and undermine the right to education.’

*The report is authored by the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD); Audita Sanidad in Spain; the Center for Financial Accountability (CFA) in India, and Recourse; the Coalition for Transparency and Accountability in Education (COTAE) in Liberia and partners; Jubilee Scotland; the Latin American Network for Economic and Social Justice (Latindadd); and Project on Organization, Development, Education and Research (PODER) in Mexico. 

It has been endorsed by 18 organisations worldwide.

The full report History RePPPeated II: Why public-private partnerships are not the solution, and a briefing, can be found here.