Decentralisation and deconcentration in Cambodia: what's behind the D&D policy

Koh Sla (Kampot, Cambodia). 10/05/2007: Members of the village commune council with their typewriter. (Photo: John Vink/ Magnum)

09-02-2009
By Corinne Callebaut and Duong Sokha
Ka-set

On May 17th this year, polls will be held in Cambodia on the basis of indirect suffrage for the election of councillors in the capital, provinces, municipalities, districts and sections [khans] in the whole Kingdom. These elections come as part of the decentralisation and deconcentration process – also known as D&D, according to the acronym used by the Cambodian political class – which the state has been trying to implement since 2001. The goal of this new policy is to delegate and, to a lesser extent, to transfer part of the decision-making power to localities at sub-national levels. For that process, several administrative reforms have been carried out and redistribute the roles of each of those divisions. To avoid losing the plot in front of this new concoction brought by the Organic Law on Administrative Management adopted in April 2008, here is a little explanation of the ins and outs of this reform and the D&D policy.

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