The Role of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in Smart City Development in Uganda

Abstract

An innovative and smart city development paradigm is vital in dealing with the impacts of unprecedented urbanisation that most nations, especially developing countries, including Uganda, are experiencing. This paper explores the role and contribution of public-private partnerships (PPPs) in establishing sustainable cities in Uganda based on a review of the existing literature. Findings revealed that public-private partnerships do facilitate innovative city development. Critical factors such as a lack of appreciation of the private sector for public sector activities, poor infrastructure, inadequate human resources, weak policy, and legal and institutional frameworks continue to affect the implementation of innovative city development in Uganda. For innovative city development to work through public-private partnerships, critical factors such as geographical and social contexts shape the conceptualisation of a smart city. The significance of this study lies in its ability to provide a deeper understanding of the accomplishments of PPPs in promoting innovative city development in the country. This study focused on smart city governance as a component of a creative city concept. The study focused on the National Land Information System (NLIS) to ensure Uganda’s efficient land administration system. However, the researcher also looked at capacity building, networking for urban sustainability and people-friendly mobility, and smart/intelligent urban mobility for smart city development. Considering the need for more systematic studies on PPPs and smart city development in Africa, this study recommends that it is imperative to empirically explore the contribution of PPPs in smart city development in African contexts as a whole and the Ugandan context in particular.