Donors air next year’s aid agenda

Wednesday, 30 September 2009
Sebastian Strangio and Vong Sokheng
The Phnom Penh Post

LAND rights, judicial reform and the global economic crisis are to be among the key challenges for Cambodia in 2010, according to foreign donors, who have expressed cautious optimism about the government’s progress in key areas.

Speaking at the Government-Development Partner Coordination Committee (GDCC) meeting held in Phnom Penh on Tuesday, senior officials and diplomats discussed the country’s progress on the series of Joint Monitoring Indicators (JMIs) that are linked to annual donations of foreign aid.

“This meeting of the GDCC is taking place at a particularly critical juncture, as we are seeing more clearly the impacts from the global economic downturn and the slowdown in Cambodia’s economic growth,” World Bank Country Manager Qimiao Fan said in a statement released following the meeting.

German Ambassador Frank Markus Mann hailed “very positive results” in the land sector but said a spate of recent land disputes represented an “urgent” challenge to poverty reduction and equitable economic development.

Similarly, Australian Ambassador Margaret Adamson praised recent actions on judicial reform, including the government’s plan to send the long-awaited anticorruption law to the National Assembly “in the coming weeks”, but expressed concerns about the recent crackdown on government critics.

The meeting came ahead of December’s annual Cambodia Development Cooperation Forum, at which foreign nations are set to announce their aid donations for 2010, but critics have long questioned the utility of such meetings.

In a February report, international group Global Witness argued that despite promises of reform dating back to 2001, the government has failed to deliver, noting the continued lack of an anticorruption law.

Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Yim Sovann said donors, who pledged nearly US$1 billion in aid in 2009, had the power to pressure the government on key issues, but that past experience was not encouraging.

“If they continue to do what they’ve done in past years, there will be no improvements,” he said.

Chith Sam Ath, executive director of the NGO Forum, who attended the meeting, said it was positive that the issues were being raised but that the government’s commitment would be tested in between the government-donor forums.

“There need to be further discussions between NGOs and development partners,” he said. “NGOs welcome” further discussions and dialogue.

Cambodia Awarded Nearly $1 Billion in Aid

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
05 December 2008

Click here to listen to the Khmer audio program

Cambodia was awarded nearly $1 billion in aid promises Friday, with Chinese aid surpassing that of any other country or agency.

“This week is a $1 billion week for Cambodia,” Keat Chhon told reporters after the two-day donor meeting ended Friday. “This aid package we have not yet divided into loans and grants,” he said, and the total so far did not include aid from some agencies or countries.

Of the total $951.5 million, China pledged $257 million, compared to $91.5 million. The EU pledged $214 million, compared to $170.2 million last year. Japan maintained its aid level, promising $113 million this year, compared to $112.2 million in 2007.

The US, which was the No. 3 donor last year, with $48.8 million in pledged aid, did not disclose an amount Friday, but officials said they were committed to a strong relationship with the government.

The government said in a statement Friday the country’s economic growth rate was likely to fall in 2009, meaning “the Royal Government will need to maintain commitment to the current reform program, react swiftly to minimize adverse effects of global recession on key sectors and the poorest segments of the population, and to focus on rural development and the modernization of agriculture in order to protect people’s livelihoods.”

Opposition says aid, foreign investment to drop more than 30pc

Wednesday, 26 November 2008
Written by Chun Sophal
The Phnom Penh Post

A slower global economy and an expected decline in development aid will hit Cambodia more than the government admits, critics say

CAMBODIA'S foreign direct investment is set to drop more than the 30 percent claimed by the government, an opposition lawmaker warned Tuesday, adding that donor aid will also fall further than expected.

Sam Rainsy Party lawmaker Son Chhay said the economic slowdown is more serious than the government admits and that lower foreign aid payments will add to the Kingdom's economic woes.

"I think the prime minister will not be able to get more than US$400 million from donor countries because those countries are suffering from the economic crisis," he said.

Son Chhay added that the government has recently increased expenses on public administration by 38 percent and called for new policies to encourage farmers to grow crops on public land and to increase productivity and job creation.

Prime Minister Hun Sen last week predicted a drop of nearly 30 percent in foreign investment in response to a widening financial crisis that has engulfed the Kingdom's principal investor countries.

In his address to the Government-Private Sector Forum on Friday, Hun Sen also said Cambodia could expect $500 million in foreign investment in 2009, down from $700 million this year.

"We think the decrease will not affect economic growth or our poverty-reduction strategies as long as we receive between $500 million and $600 million from official development aid," Hun Sen said.

The government plans to call for aid of at least $600 million from development partners and other countries at the donor meeting set for early December, Hun Sen said.

"How can we avoid the effects [of the crisis] on our economy if investment is decreasing?" he said.

Hang Chuon Naron, secretary general at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, said Cambodia's continued economic growth depends on the Kingdom receiving $600 million in donor aid and more than $850 million in foreign direct investment.

Donors to Meet on Tribunal Funding

By Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
12 June 2008

Donor representatives are expected to meet in New York next week to examine a final proposal for increased funds for the Khmer Rouge tribunal, a spokesman said.

"We don't need to have the funds in the bank, we just need the pledges, and that is enough for us to proceed," tribunal spokesman Peter Foster said.

Tribunal officials have been reworking their initial request of $114 million, and officials said Thursday that figure was likely to be around $48 million for the trials of the five arrested Khmer Rouge leaders. That figure could increase if more are arrested and charged.