ADB: Food aid well-used in Cambodia [-Dream on, the distribution is plagued with alleged corruption!]

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has called the first phase of its 40 million U.S. dollars emergency food program a success, state media reported Monday.

"This assistance is making a very real difference in the lives of Cambodia's most vulnerable," ADB country director Arjun Goswami was quoted by the Phnom Penh Post as saying.

He added that the program had effectively reached those in need and said the Cambodian government was to be praised for its efforts.

Meanwhile, the government on Monday launched its investigation with ADB observance into complaints that the food aid was not distributed fairly.

The ADB did not release the number of complaints but described them as "relatively limited" in quantity.

Controversial Rice Aid Hailed a Success

By Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
14 November 2008

The Asian Development Bank and government announced success on Friday for emergency food assistance that was widely criticized by villagers as unfair.

The ADB and government undertook a $40-million emergency food distribution between Oct. 29 and Nov. 5, handing out nearly 120,000 tons to 68,000 poor families in 200 communes around the Tonle Sap lake and in Phnom Penh.

“The assistance is making a very real difference in the lives of Cambodia’s most vulnerable, in particular its children,” Arjun Goswami, ADB country director, said in a statement.

The aid was in response to rising food and fuel prices that have squeezed Cambodia’s poorest, but a number of villagers complained that the distribution was plagued by corruption and favoritism by local leaders.

“Unfortunately, the project’s funding simply could not cover all of those families in need of food assistance,” Goswami said. “It is understandable that some of those who could not be reached with assistance feel let down.”

A statement from the Minister of Economy and Finance called the emergency distribution “highly positive, except in one commune in Kampong Chhnang province, where the distribution was suspended because of villagers’ protests.”

The ADB and government said they would conduct further investigations into distribution irregularities starting Nov. 17.

“The protests that were mentioned in the media, it’s not sure they are true, but we have a mechanism to check,” said Vong Sandab, deputy secretary-general of the Ministry of Finance, who was in charge of the distribution.

The ADB has so far received 51 phone complaints of distribution irregularities, said Long Piseth, program officer at the ADB.

68,000 poor families of Cambodia receive emergency food assistance from ADB [-Distribution was marred by alleged corruption]

PHNOM PENH, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Over 68,000 poor families of Cambodia have received emergency food assistance following the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Board of Directors' approval of the project last month, said an ADB press release here on Friday.

"This assistance is making a very real difference in the lives of Cambodia's most vulnerable, particularly its children," said ADB Country Director Arjun Goswami.

"Putting food on the tables of Cambodia's poorest families, just one month after the project's approval, is a commendable accomplishment by the government," he said, adding that food distribution has been supervised by independent NGO monitors.

One of the primary objectives of ADB's emergency food assistance is to help support Cambodia's efforts to ameliorate the food price inflation shock on the poorest and most vulnerable families in the seven provinces around the Tonle Sap Lake, and in three urban slums around Phnom Penh, said the release.

The project targeted the poorest 20 percent of poor families in 200 selected communes, it added.

The ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in the Asia and Pacific region through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration.

Established in 1966, the ADB is owned by 67 members, 48 from the region. In 2007, it approved 10.1 billion U.S. dollars of loans, 673 million dollars of grant projects, and technical assistance amounting to 243 million dollars, according to the release.

ADB, Government Defend Emergency Aid

Vong Sandab, deputy director-general of the Ministry of Finance, left, and Long Piseth, project manager for the Asian Development Bank

By Sok Khemara, VOA Khmer
Washington
07 November 2008

Click here to listen to the Khmer audio program

Asian Development Bank and government officials defended their emergency rice program Thursday, following widespread reports of biased distribution.

The government had taken many efforts to alleviate the impacts of inflation on the poor this year, said Vong Sandab, deputy director-general of the Ministry of Finance, who is in charge of distributions, as guest on “Hello VOA.”

The ADB and government set out last week to distribute $40 million in emergency aid to people hard-hit by rising fuel prices in seven provinces, but many villagers complained the rice and other foodstuffs were not reaching those in need.

Vong Sandab and Long Piseth, project manager for the ADB, who was also a guest, said they would investigate through neutral monitors.

“The poorest families received the donations,” said Long Piseth.

US$35m food aid misused [-Finally the AD admits mismanagement of food aid distribution!]

Nov 6, 2008
AFP

PHNOM PENH - THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Thursday there has been mismanagement in a US$35 million (S$52 million) emergency food aid project after many poor Cambodians complained rice was not given out fairly.

Up to three hundred Cambodians complained to the ADB that they had not received rice handouts while village chiefs have registered relatives and political supporters for the project, the bank said.

'I think that some people have been left out. Some of the village chiefs have not followed procedures properly,' the ADB's Piseth Long, implementation officer for the project, told AFP.

'Procedures need to be followed for the targeted people - the 20 per cent poorest should receive aid,' he said, adding that the bank was reviewing how many complaints were genuine and attempting to get aid to those who deserve it.

Cambodian human rights groups have said more than 1,000 poor families in several provinces have complained of corruption by village chiefs in the rice distribution project.

Mr Piseth Long, however, stopped short of saying that fraud had been found in the process and noted that 'to a certain extent the project has fulfilled its goal' of handing out rice to the poorest of the poor.

The project began last month to help hundreds of thousands of impoverished Cambodians in rural areas and slums over the next three years amid soaring inflation, food and fuel prices.

Cambodia is one of 12 'hunger hotspot' countries, according to the International Food Policy Research Institute. More than 30 percent of Cambodia's 14 million people live in poverty.