By Douglas Gillison and Pin Sisovann
THE CAMBODIA DAILY
The Ministry of Finance has reversed its May 22 decision to freeze funding for three World Bank-supported projects, saying the Bank has offered no evidence of corruption and accusing it of causing unnecessary damage to the government's reputation.
The decision to unfreeze the funds for the projects, worth $64.5 million, was announced in a statement read twice on state-run TVK Saturday evening.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance has concluded that by continuing the current situation it would damage implementation of the projects themselves, as well as damage other reforms of the government," it said.
It went on to dismiss the Bank's allegations that malpractice had occurred in connection with the projects, saying the claims had not been properly substantiated.
"Such allegations without reason and evidence damage the Royal Government's image and this is unacceptable,'' the statement said.
On May 22, Finance Minister Keat Chhon froze funds for three projects: the Ministry of Land Management's $243 million land management and administration project, the ministries of Rural Development and Public Works' $20 million rural infrastructure project and the Ministry of Industry's $19.9 million provincial and peri-urban water and sanitation project.
The move came after the World Bank discovered irregularities in contracts and misuse of funds in a total of seven major projects.
In a statement released Sunday afternoon, World Bank Country Director Ian Porter said that the Bank would provide the government with more information about the affair on Tuesday.
"The investigations are complex and it is essential that all information released is accurate," Porter wrote. "[P]utting together the full details of all the investigation outcomes has unfortunately taken more time than we had anticipated."
Minister of Rural Development Lu Laysreng said Sunday that there have been no problems with project contracts at his ministry.
"What is irregular? Nothing is irregular," he said. "If any irregularity exists, freeze the money."
Ith Praing, secretary of state at the Ministry of Industry, said his ministry has been unable to detect any of the problems alluded to by the World Bank. "My ministry hasn’t found any so far," he said. "The World Bank needs to find them."
He added that work had continued on the project despite the freezing of funds. "So far, only the money was frozen, not the work," he said.
Senior Finance Ministry officials could not be contacted. Ut Chhorn, chairman of the National Audit Authority, which pledged last week to audit the projects, declined to comment.
Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Yim Sovann, who on Friday urged the World Bank to release information about the scandal to the National Assembly, said he was opposed to the funds being unfrozen.
"The government should continue to freeze the funds until the World Bank releases the information," he said.
The decision to unfreeze the funds for the projects, worth $64.5 million, was announced in a statement read twice on state-run TVK Saturday evening.
The Ministry of Economy and Finance has concluded that by continuing the current situation it would damage implementation of the projects themselves, as well as damage other reforms of the government," it said.
It went on to dismiss the Bank's allegations that malpractice had occurred in connection with the projects, saying the claims had not been properly substantiated.
"Such allegations without reason and evidence damage the Royal Government's image and this is unacceptable,'' the statement said.
On May 22, Finance Minister Keat Chhon froze funds for three projects: the Ministry of Land Management's $243 million land management and administration project, the ministries of Rural Development and Public Works' $20 million rural infrastructure project and the Ministry of Industry's $19.9 million provincial and peri-urban water and sanitation project.
The move came after the World Bank discovered irregularities in contracts and misuse of funds in a total of seven major projects.
In a statement released Sunday afternoon, World Bank Country Director Ian Porter said that the Bank would provide the government with more information about the affair on Tuesday.
"The investigations are complex and it is essential that all information released is accurate," Porter wrote. "[P]utting together the full details of all the investigation outcomes has unfortunately taken more time than we had anticipated."
Minister of Rural Development Lu Laysreng said Sunday that there have been no problems with project contracts at his ministry.
"What is irregular? Nothing is irregular," he said. "If any irregularity exists, freeze the money."
Ith Praing, secretary of state at the Ministry of Industry, said his ministry has been unable to detect any of the problems alluded to by the World Bank. "My ministry hasn’t found any so far," he said. "The World Bank needs to find them."
He added that work had continued on the project despite the freezing of funds. "So far, only the money was frozen, not the work," he said.
Senior Finance Ministry officials could not be contacted. Ut Chhorn, chairman of the National Audit Authority, which pledged last week to audit the projects, declined to comment.
Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Yim Sovann, who on Friday urged the World Bank to release information about the scandal to the National Assembly, said he was opposed to the funds being unfrozen.
"The government should continue to freeze the funds until the World Bank releases the information," he said.
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