Institutional Set Up
A PPP unit to be established in the Ministry of Finance and National Planning as an Independent Statutory Body will coordinate, administer and monitor PPPs in Zambia. International experience suggests that identifying and establishing clear and unambiguous institutional functions in relation to PPP at the onset of a country’s PPP programme can greatly assist in successful PPP implementation. At the same time, it is useful to have a degree of institutional flexibility in the early years of a country’s PPP programme, to encourage experimentation and innovation, and importantly, to ensure that public bodies that have capacity are not delayed while institutional capacity elsewhere is being developed.

The PPP unit shall clearly determine which investments shall be undertaken by both local and foreign partners from the private sector. The rationale shall be that focus would be given to local partners from the private sector. The profile of the PPP unit as an institution shall be clearly spelt out in the Act that will establish the PPP unit. While institutional roles and responsibilities may change over time as Government’s experience with PPP grows, the following public institutions will play important roles in the programme:
 Ministry of Finance and National Planning will play a key role in assessing the budgetary implications of PPP projects. The PPP Unit will work in association with key departments of the Ministry of Finance and National Planning in the assessment of PPP project affordability, value-for-money, feasibility, and contingent liabilities associated with PPP projects.
 Contracting Ministries, Local Authorities and other public bodies, will play a lead role in the identification, selection and monitoring of PPP projects in their sectors. Sectors with capacity will be encouraged to move forward with their projects, subject to them being affordable and generating value for money. Sectors with less capacity will benefit from the assistance of the PPP Unit and external transaction advisers.

Legal & Regulatory Framework
The country already has many of the ingredients required for a successful PPP programme i.e. a stable Government, independent judiciary and relevant public institutions. However, political and regulatory risks remain potential barriers to effective PPP implementation. With this in mind, new PPP legislation will be enacted to provide further and concrete evidence of Government's commitment to its PPP policy and to provide an opportunity to establish in law a set of general principles and rules for PPP procurement that all public bodies will be expected to comply with, thereby ensuring some degree of consistency in approach across sectors.

Public Awareness and Stakeholder Consultation
The success of the PPP programme requires widespread public support. A PPP communications and awareness strategy led by the PPP Unit will be directed at key stakeholders, officials of public service procuring agencies, employees in sectors where PPP will be developed and the general public. Information on progress in assessing and implementing the various PPP projects should be made available to all those interested in the PPP programme, using project trackers posted and updated regularly with the national media.

Capacity Building
As PPPs represent a substantially new paradigm for Government and private sector, capacity building will be necessary for all stakeholders in the PPP process. The general level of awareness and understanding of PPPs will be improved among all stakeholders to facilitate sound policy development and constructive discussion and debate. There is an urgent need to ensure a sufficient level of resources to deliver good PPP projects. The success of the PPP programme will depend on the development and retention of appropriate skills and expertise in the public and private sectors. To this end the PPP Unit will need to be adequately resourced with key skills in legal, technical and finance.

Monitoring and Evaluation
A comprehensive and regular review of the overall process should be a core responsibility of structures managing the development of PPPs. Reviews should be prepared openly and transparently within an appropriate time-frame. The review should specify implications for the procurement of assets and the delivery of quality services helping to shape the future evolution of the PPP programme. The implementation of, and adherence to, the PPP Policy Framework will be monitored and reviewed by the PPP Unit focusing, in particular, on the consistency of conduct of the PPP process with the Framework and the need for any revisions required to maintain its consistency with ongoing developments and expansion of the country’s PPP programme.

Resource Mobilisation
The Government will finance the operations of the PPP Unit. The Unit will also mobilise its own resources from PPP transaction fees. The financial institutions will be encouraged to provide loans for local businesses in order for them to participate in the PPP initiatives. The Government will work-out appropriate incentives to lenders engaged in PPP projects, particularly those institutions providing suitable financing as required by PPP projects. A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) may be created to allow for the financial structuring of transactions with the objective of resource mobilisation, within a PPP framework.