Our vision, mission and values

Vision
Facilitating and enhancing quality public service delivery by being a catalyst for efficient, effective and value-for-money best practice solutions

Mission

• To enable National Treasury and provincial treasuries to effectively regulate PPPs
• To evolve as a dynamic and sustainable center of excellence for PPPs
• To drive PPP deal flow by identifying project opportunities that yield value for all stakeholders
• To provide technical assistance to public institutions through project feasibility, procurement and management; and
• To promote an enabling environment for PPPs by:
        o facilitating certainty in the regulatory framework
        o developing best practice guidelines
        o providing training
        o disseminating reliable information; and
        o driving black economic empowerment in PPPs.

Values
 • Fairness • Empowerment • Professionalism • Integrity • Passion

PPP Unit history

In April 1997, the South African Cabinet approved the appointment of an inter-departmental task team to develop a package of policy, legislative and institutional reforms to create an enabling environment for PPPs. Pioneering PPP projects were undertaken between 1997 to 2000 by the SA National Roads Agency for the N3 and N4 toll roads; by the Departments of Public Works and Correctional Services for two maximum security prisons; by two municipalities for water services; and by SA National Parks for tourism concessions. Drawing early lessons from these projects and from international experience, a Strategic Framework for PPPs was endorsed by Cabinet in December 1999, and in April 2000, Treasury Regulations for PPPs were first issued in terms of the Public Finance Management Act (Act 1 of 1999). By mid-2000, with technical assistance funding from USAID, GTZ and DIFID, the PPP Unit was established in National Treasury with five professional staff drawn from both the public and private sectors.

PPP Unit today

National Treasury's PPP Unit now comprises five cross-functional desks: Financial, Legal, Business Development, Project Evaluation, and Municipal, funded almost wholly by Treasury, with the remaining donor support phasing out in 2005. Each professional staff member gives hands-on technical assistance to a sector-specific (eg health, tourism, IT, accommodation) portfolio of registered projects, and each also gives his/her specialist (eg financial, legal, BEE) advice on every regulated PPP project at various phases in the PPP project cycle. All PPP Unit staff are active in ongoing policy formulation and training.