Global Witness
For immediate release
Cambodia's international donors must insist on improved governance and transparency of Cambodia's oil and mining sectors at the upcoming Cambodia Development Cooperation Forum, anti-graft watchdog Global Witness said today. Governance of the sector is so poor that the donors risk losing the best chance in a generation to lift Cambodia out of poverty as well as wasting taxpayers' money from donor countries.
Ambassadors from donor countries - which provide the equivalent of half of Cambodia's annual budget - are scheduled to meet in Phnom Penh next week for a yearly review of the government's progress in meeting reform targets set at their last meeting. Hardly any of the commitments made by the Cambodian government for improving governance and human rights in the past five years have been met, yet development aid has continued to flow (see attached chart).
"Cambodia is on the verge of a petroleum and minerals windfall, but both sectors are already exhibiting early warning signs of the corruption, nepotism and state capture which plagued Cambodia's forest sector," said Global Witness Campaigns Director Gavin Hayman. "With the imminent arrival of significant revenue from oil and mining, 2008 could be the donors' last chance to use their leverage to put conditions in place to improve the lot of the average Cambodian."
Global Witness has surveyed Cambodia's oil and mining sectors and found that the small number of elite powerbrokers who run the state have sold off potentially valuable concessions to foreign companies in a manner that is non-transparent and highly dubious. So far, at least 60 mineral exploration licenses have been allocated to private companies, many of which are owned or beneficially controlled by members of Cambodia's political and military elite. All of the offshore oil concessions in Cambodian territory have been allocated and at least one of Cambodia's onshore oil blocks in the Tonle Sap basin has been granted for exploration.
To date, basic transparency or anti-corruption provisions in the allocation of the state's public assets have not been met. The government has not held any public open-bidding rounds for oil or mining rights, has failed to publish information on which companies have been awarded access to the resources, and has backtracked on endorsement of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).
"Decisions are being made now about the allocation of the country's oil and mineral resource wealth, which will determine whether the revenue generated moves the country out of poverty or headlong into the resource curse. It's crunch time for the donors," added Hayman.
Global Witness is calling for donors to insist on a moratorium on the granting of any new concessions in the oil and mining sectors until the government has the basic legal, social and environmental framework in place to manage them and the revenues produced. Also, given the complete lack of transparency in the industry to date, a review of all existing concessions is needed to ensure Cambodia is getting a fair deal.
Global Witness plans to publish a report on Cambodia's extractive industries in early 2009.
For further information please call +44 207 561 6385 or +44 7872 600870
Ambassadors from donor countries - which provide the equivalent of half of Cambodia's annual budget - are scheduled to meet in Phnom Penh next week for a yearly review of the government's progress in meeting reform targets set at their last meeting. Hardly any of the commitments made by the Cambodian government for improving governance and human rights in the past five years have been met, yet development aid has continued to flow (see attached chart).
"Cambodia is on the verge of a petroleum and minerals windfall, but both sectors are already exhibiting early warning signs of the corruption, nepotism and state capture which plagued Cambodia's forest sector," said Global Witness Campaigns Director Gavin Hayman. "With the imminent arrival of significant revenue from oil and mining, 2008 could be the donors' last chance to use their leverage to put conditions in place to improve the lot of the average Cambodian."
Global Witness has surveyed Cambodia's oil and mining sectors and found that the small number of elite powerbrokers who run the state have sold off potentially valuable concessions to foreign companies in a manner that is non-transparent and highly dubious. So far, at least 60 mineral exploration licenses have been allocated to private companies, many of which are owned or beneficially controlled by members of Cambodia's political and military elite. All of the offshore oil concessions in Cambodian territory have been allocated and at least one of Cambodia's onshore oil blocks in the Tonle Sap basin has been granted for exploration.
To date, basic transparency or anti-corruption provisions in the allocation of the state's public assets have not been met. The government has not held any public open-bidding rounds for oil or mining rights, has failed to publish information on which companies have been awarded access to the resources, and has backtracked on endorsement of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).
"Decisions are being made now about the allocation of the country's oil and mineral resource wealth, which will determine whether the revenue generated moves the country out of poverty or headlong into the resource curse. It's crunch time for the donors," added Hayman.
Global Witness is calling for donors to insist on a moratorium on the granting of any new concessions in the oil and mining sectors until the government has the basic legal, social and environmental framework in place to manage them and the revenues produced. Also, given the complete lack of transparency in the industry to date, a review of all existing concessions is needed to ensure Cambodia is getting a fair deal.
Global Witness plans to publish a report on Cambodia's extractive industries in early 2009.
For further information please call +44 207 561 6385 or +44 7872 600870
14 comments:
Cambodian people were lucky to be born on Sovanna Phoum land, but they have not chance to eat something from their land. (www.cambohistory.blogspot.com), which is the blog of Cambodia history.
Why is Global witness so political?
Yes, don't give them. It'll only go to the big pockets. Give them in term of service and goods only.
I mean stop give them money. If any country wants to help, give them something they can learn and use to make a living.
10:02 AM
Better ask this question to yourself.
If Cambodia ever became oil producer country, the money will still only end up in corrupt government. I want to see if that would benefit its own people by allowing people to pay just a portion of the cost for gasoline consumption like Venezuela does to its people. I doubt if HUN KWANG got a vision lifting up the poverty then.
please put pressure on the gov't to reform and to be a responsible and accountable gov't that people can trust. donors countries have the power to influent the cambodian gov't in a good way. donor, please do not take it lightly as cambodian gov't needs outside assistance to further strengthen its rule of law and financial transparency so its khmer citizens can all benefit from any potential oil and gas resources in the country. it is especially the ordinary khmer citizens who have the most to lose if donors do not put needed pressure on the gov't to reform. thank you and god bless cambodia.
yes, donors can help to educate cambodian gov't to be take care of its khmer citizens.
Global Witness is actually a respected entity - trying to help Cambodia to go in the right way in terms of managing it natural resources but top government officials are stubborn to listen to them for the benefits of the country and its own people because they afraid their network of win win corruption strategy would desperate.
Hey guys and gals, we've spend a lot of time posting our comments - do those guys in the gov. listen to what what we say? What are the ways that can reach them? I see that you all have great comments and what can KI media do to keep those in an archive that can be useful for future use?
You really keep daily update,
Please visit worldnews today too
i think people in cambodia are eager to use blog or the internet as they wanted to be kept informed of the outside world and other worldly opinions; so, yes, people in cambodia from all walks of life (meaning those who's do have access to the internet, etc...) do surf the internet for news, and KI is one of those sites they read because, yes, others' opinions and statements can be helpful. thank you.
I bet Global Witness looking for tip and bribe from the Khmer's government.
I say: if these donors -- after all these years -- have not learned anything from this government, again, what the hell -- give the money to them.
Who in their right mind would listened to the retard Global Witness?
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