The Private Sector and Local Elites: The Experience of Public-Private Partnership in the Water Sector in Tripoli, Lebanon

As part of a reform of the water sector, the first attempt at public-private partnership (PPP) in Lebanon took place from 2003 to 2007 in the city of Tripoli. A subsidiary of the multinational company Suez-environnement was contracted to manage the drinking water service in the Tripoli Water Authority area. The objective of the contract was to improve domestic water supply services in Tripoli while modernizing the public administration, which, until then, was unable to ensure proper service. This contribution seeks to understand the interactions between the private firm and local elites during this time, in a context deeply marked by clientelism and cronyism. While the literature on delegated water management in developing countries often focuses on institutional aspects, this case study brings politics back into the analysis to understand how the introduction of a private actor affects clientelist networks.