Privatization of Parastatals

Book excerpt: In the pursuit of policies and approaches that would sustain and accelerate economic development after the declared departure of colonial powers, African governments set up parastatals to serve as conduit for economic development through which governments could deliver services to the general populace. However, there is evidence that most parastatals do not utilize resources efficiently; instead, they impose heavy burdens on public resources and distort their use in the economy. Given the shortcomings of parastatals, in the 1980s, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), USAID, and other international donor agencies came to Africa with a philosophy of privatization. These multi-national corporations and donor agencies discretely advocated the overhauling of parastatals but the suggested processes and methods to this end were vague. Nonetheless, the arm-twisting strategies of multi-national corporations and international donors forced African governments to succumb to the philosophy of privatization. Unfortunately, in general, the philosophy, policies and practices of privatization operated to the economic detriment of African countries. Thus, as pursued in this text, it is actively compelling that the process of privatization be examined critically, considering advantages and disadvantages as well as the economic profitability for countries in sub-Saharan Africa.