Groups Postpone Results of Corruption Survey

By Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer
Original report from Phnom Penh
03 June 2009

An umbrella group of rights organizations postponed a press conference to discuss corruption research Wednesday, in the wake of a row between the US and Cambodian governments.

The group, Pact Cambodia, was scheduled to present findings of a 2008 corruption survey, funded by USAID, Thursday. No new date was set.

The government held a press conference on Tuesday lambasting anti-corruption statements by US Ambassador Carol Rodley, who said in a speech last week the country loses $500 million annually to corruption.

The Report on Corruption Barometer Survey in Cambodia for 2008 was supported by Transparency International and funded by USAID.

No reason was given by organizers for the postponement, but the cancellation came just a day after senior government officials said Rodley’s remarks on corruption were one-sided and unsupported.

“The Royal Government of Cambodia absolutely refutes the politically motivated and unsubstantiated allegation made by the United States diplomat in contradiction of the good relations between Cambodia and the United States Government,” the government said in a letter to the US Embassy.

US officials have declined to comment on the government’s statement.

Nuth Youthy, a senior researcher for Pact Cambodia, declined to comment on the postponement of the report’s release.

$500 million of revenue lost from corruption could increase civil servants pay by $260 per month: Not Sam Rainsy but US Ambassador Carol Rodley

31 May 2009
By Oun Chhin
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer

The US ambassador to Cambodia said that revenue loss from corruption in Cambodia amounts to $500 million per year, and this amount could add up to $260 of additional monthly salary to civil servants.

Mrs. Carol Rodley, the US ambassador who participated in the anti-corruption “Clean Hand” concert organized by Pact Cambodia and civil societies at the National Olympic Stadium on Saturday 30 May 2009, discussed about the amount of revenue lost through corruption.

Carol Rodley said through a translator: “Numerous studies have shown that corruption in Cambodia led to $500 million in lost national revenue each year. The amount of revenue lost could help boost various expenditures, such as public education service, health service and jobs for Cambodian people. $500 million in lost revenue is equivalent to the cost of a building with 20,000 rooms, or it can also provide $260 of additional monthly salary to civil servants in Cambodia.”

Carol Rodley also expressed her hope that the anti-corruption law will be adopted in 2009.

Through a translator, Carol Rodley said: “We are pushing the Cambodian government to respect its promise for the ratification of the anti-corruption law. During the 2008 election, all political parties promised to adopt this law. Now is the time to put this law into practice.”

The Clean Hand concert was participated by numerous Cambodian singers and artists, as well as by Neay Koy’s comic troop.

The concert was accompanied by projection of Clean Hand pictures that attracted the spectators who took still pictures or recorded the event on video on their cameras and hand phones.

Mrs. Huot Ratanak from Pact Cambodia said that this first concert organized by her organization was successful beyond expectation. “We hosted several tens of thousands spectators who came to our concert,” she said.

The Clean Hand concert ended with the song “Pong-sav-da Khmer” (Khmer History) interpreted by all the artists and singers present.