Comparative analysis of the public–private partnerships framework: Case for South Africa and Brazil

Background: This article provides a comparative analysis of South Africa and Brazil’s municipal public–private partnerships (PPPs) framework with the objective of obtaining lessons for South Africa. Between 1995 and 2019, Brazil had 96 municipal water PPP projects in contrast to South Africa, which had only six municipal water PPP projects.Aim: The article through comparative analysis seeks to gain insights from the Brazilian PPP framework and then to deduce some lessons for South Africa. Brazil was chosen because it has similar developmental characteristics to South Africa.Method: This article relied heavily on secondary qualitative data to analyse both South Africa and Brazil’s municipal PPP frameworks.Results: South Africa needs to frequently review its PPP regulatory environment to determine its effectiveness and fit for purpose; create a framework for fast-tracking smaller PPP projects; and put in place mandatory ex-post evaluation of PPP.Conclusion: South Africa’s policymakers must redesign the municipal PPP framework and approval process to be able to respond to changing environments and address the underlying reasons for the low uptake of municipal infrastructure projects.Contribution: The article provides valuable lessons to policy makers especially in Africa, on how to design an effective regulatory framework to facilitate the speedy adoption of municipal PPPs in the water sector.