World Bank President Robert Zoellick gestures as he speaks during a news conference in Phnom Penh August 5, 2007. Zoellick is on a two-day visit to Cambodia. REUTERS/Chor SokuntheaRobert Zoellick urged Cambodia to fight graft, better manage its resources and improve education and healthcare.
August 05, 2007
Reuters
World Bank President Robert Zoellick urged impoverished Cambodia on Sunday to fight graft, better manage its resources and improve education and healthcare.
Cambodia received $690 million in foreign donor aid in June and "to continue and strengthen support, it will need to build a positive record and counter the challenges of corruption", he told reporters at the end of a 2-day visit.
Zoellick, on his first official visit to Asia as World Bank chief, toured development projects and met senior Cambodian officials, including Prime Minister Hun Sen.
They discussed the impact of illegal logging, which the British environmental group Global Witness says involves elite families, including Hun Sen's relatives, a charge denied by the prime minister.
"The prime minister actually emphasised himself the need to stop the logging operations because it had become too significant a source of corruption," Zoellick said.
Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge soldier who has been in charge for more than two decades, has previously acknowledged the concerns about rampant graft in a country rated by Transparency International as one of the most corrupt in the world.
Last year the World Bank suspended three development projects in Cambodia plagued by corruption and demanded misused funds be repaid.
After years of civil war and political unrest, Cambodia's economy has finally started to take off, although Hun Sen's critics say the stability he has brought has been at the expense of human rights and probity.
Zoellick said the bank would work with Cambodia to speed up passage of an anti-corruption law, which has been delayed by a decade.
"I urge Cambodia to help me help them. It is not only to pass the law but implement it," he said.
Zoellick said he was impressed by Cambodia's economic performance and its double-digit growth in recent years, but it needed to reduce its heavy reliance on garment exports.
Garment exports accounted for about $2.5 billion of Cambodia's total exports of $3.7 billion in 2006.
Cambodia's economy grew 10.8 percent last year and it is expected to expand 9.1 percent in 2007.
"To draw other businesses, it is important to create the climate for investment such as improving the legal system and judiciary," he said.
August 05, 2007
Reuters
World Bank President Robert Zoellick urged impoverished Cambodia on Sunday to fight graft, better manage its resources and improve education and healthcare.
Cambodia received $690 million in foreign donor aid in June and "to continue and strengthen support, it will need to build a positive record and counter the challenges of corruption", he told reporters at the end of a 2-day visit.
Zoellick, on his first official visit to Asia as World Bank chief, toured development projects and met senior Cambodian officials, including Prime Minister Hun Sen.
They discussed the impact of illegal logging, which the British environmental group Global Witness says involves elite families, including Hun Sen's relatives, a charge denied by the prime minister.
"The prime minister actually emphasised himself the need to stop the logging operations because it had become too significant a source of corruption," Zoellick said.
Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge soldier who has been in charge for more than two decades, has previously acknowledged the concerns about rampant graft in a country rated by Transparency International as one of the most corrupt in the world.
Last year the World Bank suspended three development projects in Cambodia plagued by corruption and demanded misused funds be repaid.
After years of civil war and political unrest, Cambodia's economy has finally started to take off, although Hun Sen's critics say the stability he has brought has been at the expense of human rights and probity.
Zoellick said the bank would work with Cambodia to speed up passage of an anti-corruption law, which has been delayed by a decade.
"I urge Cambodia to help me help them. It is not only to pass the law but implement it," he said.
Zoellick said he was impressed by Cambodia's economic performance and its double-digit growth in recent years, but it needed to reduce its heavy reliance on garment exports.
Garment exports accounted for about $2.5 billion of Cambodia's total exports of $3.7 billion in 2006.
Cambodia's economy grew 10.8 percent last year and it is expected to expand 9.1 percent in 2007.
"To draw other businesses, it is important to create the climate for investment such as improving the legal system and judiciary," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment