Public Services International Research Unit

This report provides an analysis of the problems facing public provision of water in Lagos, Nigeria, highlighting the problems of privatization and public-private partnerships. Key findings from the report include: . Improving public water systems is both possible and preferable. . Public financing, rather than private investment, provides a better deal for the people and the government of cities like Lagos. . Collaboration between public providers provides better solutions than privatized, competition-based systems. . Strengthening public water systems is good for democratic governance. Lagos. water system can become a world-class model for other cities to follow. The report makes recommendations for improving public provision, which constitute a plan for a well-functioning, democratically governed water system in Lagos and beyond.

The possibility of a return to public ownership of the UK energy system has increased since Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader of the Labour party. This paper sets out the advantages of public ownership; the extent of public ownership in other countries; how the process of returning to the public sector could work in the UK – taking full account...