The Limitations of Privatisation

Having a private entity handle a section of the economy usually results in tremendous growth being witnessed in that segment. This is because unlike the government that may not pay attention to details of expenses and loss or profit, a private company would be interested in making profit with minimal acceptance for losses.

Proper investments would be made to ensure that the business is fit to make enough money to justify the expenses. And measures would be taken to ensure that the business continues to grow.

Now imagine if water and roads were privatized.

It would be a step in the right direction. The water would be neat and more regular but it would come at more cost than before because of the increased maintenance costs.

As for the roads, they would be fixed and we may not see potholes on the road for sometime.

The reason why we experience setbacks in infrastructure is mostly because the government doesn't care about the state of these amenities.

They may provide it initially but the maintenance culture is not there and as a result, the whole thing crumbles and no one is there to get it back in shape. Which is why one may see dilapidated social amenities provided by government but wasting over the years. This is more common in rural areas but can be seen anywhere regardless.

We have seen how the private sector handles schools and hospitals so we know what to expect from them if the roads and water were to be given into their care.

But then we know how a private company can shut down abruptly without notice because of a setback that the owner suffers.
I remember a private hospital a few years ago that struggled to stay afloat after the death of the owner.

Hence in my opinion one company should not handle the water so that in case of any problem, there would still be other alternatives and not having drought descend on the nation because of a company's problems.

But for the roads, I don't think it should be placed in the hands of private.
Imagine getting stuck in traffic because the owner of a road increased payment suddenly due to inflation or another reason.
Or makes his road unaffordable to the general public.

You may have to go through a longer route if you can't pay up.

I think we should allow government to handle roads but always disturb them to repair it when it gets bad.
That way the roads don't get too bad and the cost doesn't become outrageous.

One other aspect of private ownership is the mischievous actions that they may carry out all in a bid to make more profits like not filtering the water completely or using substandard materials to build roads.

It's common to see cost cutting measures implemented all in a bid to save costs and maximise profits in the private sector. This is an uncommon feature in government owned businesses.