Foreword
By Dr Benson Okundi & Edward Kerich
Partner, Government and Public Sector Leader, PwC, East Market Area| Risk Assurance Services Partner & Environment Social Governance Leader - PwC Kenya
Welcome to the 2022 second edition of Public Sector & Infrastructure Insight publication, a collection of articles authored by PwC practitioners focusing on issues that affect the economies locally, across the region and globally. In this edition, we take a positive stance beyond challenges that have been evident in our environments and focus on Re-emerging and rebuilding for a better today and tomorrow. We hope these articles will deliver insightful thoughts and views to you, our stakeholder.
Local, regional, and global economies are now interconnected resulting in a ripple effect including the Russia-Ukrainian War whose impact can be felt in different ways especially the increase in global inflation. This combined with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic have compounded heavily affecting the commodity market through escalating energy prices, production costs and household expenses. However, we remain optimistic about what the future holds, and that the current economic situation will improve.
We look into the reality of the Universal Health Coverage, in light of the progress made across Africa alongside unmet health needs that necessitate the removal of barriers to access health care for all. To actualise this we discuss accelerators such as taking a phased approach in implementation, promoting Public Private Partnerships (PPP) to spur the growth of health infrastructure and training institutions among others.
The fight against corruption is visible across countries though this seems to be a fight yet to be won. This then creates a huge expectation for current and future governments to demonstrate tangible actions to visibly fight this vice. It is clear that setting the right tone and decisively pursuing the corrupt is needed.
As the citizenry looks for increasingly personalised and seamless experiences, digital platforms have become core to propel governments forward. Having a holistic governance framework ensures digital transformation is happening in a cohesive manner across various government agencies. Other areas that will also advance this agenda include having legislations and policies in place and a shift from traditional operating models to more agile ones.
Tax Dispute resolution and legislation is a priority considering the immense pressure on governments’ revenues. Key trends are discussed and recommendations to taxpayers to adopt a proactive approach to dispute resolution and having flexibility in embracing Alternate Dispute Resolution to determine such matters expeditiously.
A look at the effectiveness of boards in meeting organisations’ mandates helps us understand that boards are the apex of governance. This article takes us through their establishment, role and the need to carry out independent reviews to maintain effectiveness.
We conclude this newsletter by talking about building a vibrant capital market in Ethiopia that marks the beginning of a new era. This is demonstrated by what will be known as the Ethiopian Securities Exchange which is soon to take off. The first players into the capital markets arena will likely be state-owned enterprises and large private banks and insurance companies, who are preparing for this fundamental shift in the Ethiopian economy. With a lot of preparation including investments in creating an enabling environment, a booming capital market will certainly attract foreign and local investors to participate and contribute to Ethiopia’s homegrown economic reform journey.
On behalf of our members from the East Market Area, that is, Kenya; Uganda; Tanzania; Rwanda; Zambia and Mauritius, we hope you enjoy these insightful articles. As always, we welcome your feedback. If you would like to discuss any of the issues highlighted here, please reach out to me, Edward Kerich or any of the PwC practitioners featured in this publication.
Please enjoy this read.
