Assessing the Preparedness of Tanzania’s Public Higher Learning Institutions to Implement Public-Private Partnership Project: An Investigation of Pre-Launch Challenges

Abstract

There is a growing consensus that public-private partnerships (PPPs) are the approach best suited to addressing infrastructure inadequacies and improving service provision in vital areas, such as education. In Tanzania, the Public-Private Partnership Act (2010), along with its 2023 amendment, has been passed, yet no PPP project at a public higher learning institution has ever been implemented. This paper evaluated the Tanzanian public HLIs' challenges in developing PPP ventures, their understanding of the national PPP policy, institutional preparedness, and attitudes towards the policy's applicability. The research covered eight administrative regions of mainland Tanzania, including 30 (out of 104) public HLIs. Using a convergent mixed-methods design, quantitative data were collected via semi-structured questionnaires and subjected to frequency and percentile distribution analyses, the Kruskal-Wallis H-test, and the Garret Ranking technique to rank pre-launch problems. Qualitative data were derived from key informant interviews and were thematically coded, categorised, and analysed for recurring patterns. The findings suggest that public HLIs are only moderately informed about the national PPP framework, with most lacking a specialised unit, technical expertise, and adequate resources. The administrative approval and other structural constraints also prevent the project from getting started. To some, the framework appears constructive; to others, it is deemed too weak to make PPP a reality. Bridging these gaps will require public HLIs' specific PPP approaches, enhanced institutional capacity, sustainable financing, simplified regulations , and improved public-private partnerships. Such actions may unleash the power of PPP to raise infrastructure, improve service delivery, and support national socio-economic growth.