Privatisation can be defined as ‘the partial or total transfer of property of responsibility from the public sector (government) to the private sector (business) or private persons. Privatization can include the transfer of responsibilities and not solely change of ownership. Privatisation consists of simply ‘the transfer of all or any of three kinds of property rights from the state to the private sector; ownership rights, operating rights and development rights since these constitute the most common type of privatisation. In general privatisation has been undertaken as one of the reform measures to reduce government role in the economy and broaden the role of the private sector. Privatization can also be said to be a process of asset divesture.
It is seldom asked, what does privatization seeks to accomplish in the Caribbean? It must be understood that privatization is seen as an instrument working towards supply side improvement by the promotion and allocation of more efficient resources and short term stabilization through expenditure reduction.
Privatization initiatives are now a current occurrence in most Caribbean countries such as Belize, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Guyana to name a few. It has shown that most privatization activities took place in Latin America & the Caribbean; between the period 1988 and 1993 this region accounted for more than half the total privatizations in the Third World. Most privatization initiatives take place in the utility companies of the Caribbean. In case of Belize (electricity, water, port authority and the sugar cane factory). Government in many of these Lesser Developed Countries embraces privatization as an attachment to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. These institutions stress and maintain that privatization is the main driving force towards economic liberalization and self-sustained growth.
The objectives of Privatisation can happen either directly or indirectly. The main