Mission Impossible: Development without Public Services
Organised by
- Public Services International (PSI)
- ActionAid International
- Action Contre la Faim (ACF)
- Global Alliance for Tax Justice
- ICRICT
- Oxfam International
- Pax Romana, part of the International Co-ordination Meeting of Youth Organisations (ICMYO)
- The Blue Planet Project
Summary
The provision of universally accessible quality public services contributes to the reduction of hunger, poverty and inequality, the expansion of decent work and enhances social integration and cohesion. However, privatisation is about to become official UN policy. Despite concerns regarding the human rights and social justice impacts of privatization, there is a great push for private financing and private sector participation to fund public services within the FFD3 agenda.
Experience with public-private partnerships (PPPs) shows that privatisation is fundamentally flawed. PPPs in countries both rich and poor show that these are an expensive and inefficient way of financing infrastructure and services, since they conceal public borrowing, while providing long-term state guarantees for profits to private companies.
The event aims to raise concerns on PPPs in health, education and water and sanitation and propose alternative policy options that are more compatible with social development.
SPEAKERS:
– José Antonio Ocampo, ICRICT Chairperson, Former UN Under-Secretary-General
– Fernando Aportela, Undersecretary, Mexican Ministry of Finance
– Pamela Chisanga, Country Director, ActionAid Zambia
– Paul O’Brien, Policy Director, Oxfam America
– Mae Buenaventura, Global Alliance for Tax Justice/Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development
– Rosa Pavanelli, General Secretary, Public Services International
Moderator: Sandra Vermuyten, Public Services International
Followed by Q&A and a reception
Related Information
Contact
For inquiries regarding this side event, please contact
- Sandra Vermuyten, sandra.vermuyten@world-psi.org