Privatization and Alternative Public Sector Reform in Sub-Saharan Africa

KATE BAYLISS has been working on privatization in sub-Saharan Africa for over a decade, initially with a consultancy, and then as an academic. Until 2003 she worked at the University of Greenwich, UK, analyzing the impact of water and energy privatization in developing countries, and her findings were used mainly by trade unions and NGOs. BEN FINE is Professor of Economics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, UK. Recent books include Marx's Capital, 4th edition, and The New Development Economics: A Critical Introduction.

• Introduction and Overview Privatization's Shaky Theoretical Foundations; B.Fine Privatization in Practice; K.Bayliss & B.Fine Rethinking the Rethink: The World Bank and Privatization; B.Fine & K.Bayliss Water and Electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa; K.Bayliss Ghana: Privatization - A Work in Progress; K.Bayliss & R.Amenga-Etego Tanzania: From Nationalization to Privatization - and Back?; K.Bayliss Zambia: The Commercialization of Urban Water and Sanitation; H.Dagdeviren Namibia: Lessons from Commercialization; K.Bayliss Conclusion and Alternatives

'In so many areas of policy, it has been a matter of 'don't do as we did (and do) do as we say' when it comes to advice and aid from developed to developing countries. As brilliantly demonstrated by this book, the same has been true in relation to privatisation and public sector provision. The results have been disastrous not least in light of what could have been achieved by alternative forms of public delivery of basic services to the poor.' - Ha-Joon Chang, author of Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Perspective