Contracting-out public services in local authorities in Zimbabwe: The case of Harare City Council

Abstract

Contracting-out has become a central feature of modern government and one of the key institutions to deliver public services to the citizens. While arguments have and continue to be made in favor of contracting-out the provision of public services to private agents, little is known about the merits and shortcomings; factors that promote or obstruct effective and successful contracting-out. The guiding research question was: What are the experiences of Harare City Council with contracting-out the provision of public services between 1995 and 2014? The study sought to explore contracting-out experiences of Harare City Council in order to provide a source of valuable information for local government managers to ameliorate the contracting-out processes. The principal objective of the study was to investigate and describe Harare City Council’s experiences with contracting-out the provision of public services in order to better appreciate the factors that make or break the contracting out process. The study included a qualitative sample of 52 participants purposely selected. In addition to these participants, the researcher attended four local government conferences and workshops where nine local experts were interviewed. The study also used a questionnaire of 45 questions to a survey sample of fifty (50) respondents from Harare City Council. Thirty-two(32) completed surveys were returned. However, three were discarded leaving only 29 and a response rate of 58%. The survey questionnaire included sections that asked about service production arrangements, contract management capacity, contracting out functions, contracting out procedures, management of contracted companies, benefits of contracting out, policy environment, expectations and challenges of contracting out. The study also used document search to gather data. Qualitative analysis of data comprised analysis for similarities and differences, coding and categorizing, and constant comparison. The themes from the data were compared to existing literature on contracting-out theories, global experiences and theoretical framework. The qualitative analytical frameworks were supplemented by statistical data outputs from Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS).The study employed triangulation for data validation by reviewing case data from archival records such as council resolutions, memorandum, strategic plans, newsletters, minutes, by-laws, reports, annual financial and budget statements, audit reports and other such documents. The findings indicate that the contracting-out reform within Harare City Council yielded less than wholly impressive results. The HCC did not contract out the provision of public services but management problems. Contracts were poorly designed and the legal framework was heavily fragmented. Contracting-out in the public sector is more complex than in the private sector even if services appear to be the same due to political exigencies. The influence of political and socio-economic factors, such as, demand for quality services and public employee opposition to contracting-out, still help to account for variations in local government contracting. Contract management capacity is an important determinant of local government contracting. Transparency in the contracting out process is essential in order to avoid any controversy about the awarding of tenders. The results showed that HCC lacks a strategic approach to contracting-out. There was no well-documented strategy for contracting out - ad-hoc approach. It was striking to note that HCC adopted a minimalist approach to contract monitoring and supervision. The overwhelming impression was of the absence of formal contract management. The following recommendations were proffered. For contracting-out to be effective and successful, the local authorities should be able to properly manage the contracting-out processes, that is, to define contract objectives, negotiate contract terms, prepare and implement contracts, and monitor and evaluate performance. There is also need to provide leadership in setting policy, contract oversight and monitoring, setting and enforcing regulation and determining costs. There is need for sound policy and institutional framework; legislation governing contracting out; ensuring top management support; transparency; encouraging competition; strong performance monitoring; contract design, implementation and management; stakeholder involvement; adoption of strategic approach to contracting out and capacity building.