O contributo das parcerias público-privadas para a melhoria da prestação dos serviços públicos rodoviários em Moçambique (2019- 2024): o caso da concessão rodoviária à Rede Viária de Moçambique (REVIMO)

Abstract

This research analyzes the contribution of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to the improvement of public road service delivery in Mozambique, between 2019 and 2024, focusing on the road concession granted to the Rede Viária de Moçambique (REVIMO). The analysis focused on three performance indicators: infrastructure quality, associated costs, and service efficiency. Based on a predominantly qualitative methodological approach, the research employed semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders — two REVIMO directors, one government representative, and one academic linked to civil society — in order to capture perceptions, interpretations, and institutional evaluations of Public-Private Partnerships. To reinforce the qualitative findings, the approach was complemented by quantitative data obtained through a questionnaire survey administered to 102 users of the concessioned roads, specifically the Maputo Ring Road and the Maputo–KaTembe Bridge. Ultimately, the triangulation of interview data and empirical evidence allowed for a more robust analysis. The results demonstrate that the PPP with REVIMO led to no significant improvement in infrastructure quality, failed to promote meaningful gains in terms of affordability and tariff fairness, and resulted in only moderate improvement in service efficiency. Based on this evidence, the study concludes that the PPP analyzed did not achieve a significant improvement in its central objectives — namely, ensuring the continuous maintenance and preservation of the concessioned road infrastructure, raising the quality of roads to internationally acceptable standards, and promoting efficient and timely management of public road services. Finally, in light of the Theory of Collaborative Governance, the study finds that cooperation among institutional actors was compromised by structural failures in coordination and articulation, resulting in a significant limitation in the effectiveness of the Public-Private Partnership, compromising the ability to achieve the central objectives of the road concession granted to REVIMO.