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Cambodia
—
Consultative
Group Meeting Closing
Remarks by the Co-Chair, Mr. Ian C. Porter Phnom Penh, June 19-21, 2002 |
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Excellencies,
Ladies, and Gentlemen: On
behalf of all of us, I would like to thank his Excellency the Prime
Minister for his keynote address yesterday.
I would also like to thank Senior Minister Keat Chhon for
co-chairing this Consultative Group meeting and to thank the Senior
Minister and his colleagues for organizing this first CG meeting in Phnom
Penh. Excellencies,
Ladies, and Gentlemen: We
have come a long way since the first Consultative Group meeting for
Cambodia. As the Prime Minister said yesterday, just 10 years ago, the
building we are in right now was the location of the UNTAC mission. The
Prime Minister stressed that a lot has been accomplished, and “we have
the horizon firmly in our sights. However, the road is long and
difficult.” I
would like to take a few moments to first take stock of the progress made
since the last Consultative Group meeting in Tokyo; second, summarize the
critical issues which have emerged from this meeting; thirdly, discuss the
overall issue of implementation; and finally move to the issue of
partnerships and coordination. Excellencies,
Ladies, and Gentlemen: Over
the past few days, we have collectively reviewed progress on issues of
macro and fiscal performance; the development and implementation of
Cambodia’s poverty reduction strategy; implementation of governance
reforms, including public administration reform, demobilization, and legal
and judicial reform; natural resources management, including forestry and
fisheries reform, and land management; and decentralization, partnerships,
and aid coordination. With
respect to macroeconomic and fiscal performance, we have noted with
pleasure Cambodia’s strong performance in the past year, despite the
challenging global economic environment.
Economic growth has remained strong and inflation low; and the
prospects for continued solid macro performance in 2002 remain favorable.
We have also recognized that the economic situation remains
fragile, and the low level of foreign and domestic investment is a source
of serious concern. Continued
and more pro-poor growth will require broad-based development and
increased private investment, both foreign and local, and including
development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). We
have also recognized the continued progress on the policy reform agenda
over the past year. We were
pleased that the Second Socio-Economic and Development Plan (SEDP-II) has
recently been adopted by the National Assembly and that good progress is
being made on an action plan for poverty, including on the development of
a pro-poor trade strategy and the work needed to prepare for Cambodia’s
accession to the WTO. We emphasized the importance of prioritizing actions
and linking them to the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, broadening and
strengthening the process of participation, and establishing a clear
monitoring and evaluation system to ensure results.
We also stressed the importance of ensuring that the gender
dimensions of poverty are thoroughly addressed and that social development
programs, including those for HIV/AIDS, are enhanced.
On
other aspects of reform, we recognized that progress was being made on
both public administration reform and decentralization. But we emphasized
the importance of making further progress in both of these areas and
ensuring they are well integrated. We
also stressed that progress on anti-corruption and legal and judicial
reform has been very slow, and this is a major source of concern. We
welcomed the recent establishment of the Legal and Judicial Reform Council
and urged the Government to finalize its strategy for legal and judicial
reform as soon as possible. We
welcomed the significant progress being made on land issues and noted some
positive developments with respect to forestry management as well as some
setbacks. We also recognized that much more needs to be done to enhance
forestry and fisheries management. In
sum and with respect to the 10 action areas identified in the Tokyo CG
meeting, we agreed that there
have been commendable achievements in four areas: the Auditor-General has
been appointed and the National Audit Authority has begun operating; the
Land Law has been adopted; the Law on Investment has been submitted to the
National Assembly as part of the effort to rationalize investment
incentives; and the full-scale demobilization program has been launched.
In four additional areas, forestry, civil service reform,
procurement and budget allocations to the social sectors, there has been
some positive progress, but, in the case of forestry, also some setbacks.
In the final two areas, the adoption of the Anti-Corruption Law and
the finalization of an action plan for legal and judicial reform, progress
was not nearly as significant as was expected when we were in Tokyo. Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen: Clearly
the Government has made progress on the overall reform agenda since Tokyo.
But much remains to be done. During
this CG meeting, and on the basis of the results of the working groups as
well as our informal discussions on Wednesday, we have identified a number
of areas where actions can be monitored, including some items left over
from last year’s list.
These
are all important areas of reform and development for the future of
Cambodia and its progress on poverty reduction. Of particular and most
urgent importance is the need to move forward on measures with respect to
anti-corruption and the rule of law, including rigorous implementation of
existing laws with respect to anti-corruption as well as the adoption of a
new Anti-Corruption Law. In the coming year, it will be important for all of us, the
Government, the donors, civil society, and the private sector to remain
focused on these actions, and, where needed, to support the Government in
effective implementation. Benchmarks in each of these areas have been
discussed in the course of the CG meeting, and I will attach them to these
concluding remarks. It was
agreed that there would be further discussions of the procurement
benchmark by the fiscal working group; many donors indicated that it
needed to be strengthened. Donors
indicated that they also felt it was very important to advance the date
for the Anti-Corruption Law and to include specific benchmarks with
respect to the amendment of the National Assembly Election Law and the
carrying out of internationally verified free and fair elections. Beyond
these issues, over the past few days, we’ve had substantive discussions
on many other critical issues facing Cambodia.
Progress in the areas of agriculture, food security, and gender, as
well as SMEs, for example, are essential for Cambodia’s future
development and efforts to reduce poverty, but we lack a clear basis upon
which we can monitor progress. Improvements in the overall business
environment are also critical to the development of the private sector and
the creation of jobs. More
work will be needed in the coming year to establish an additional set of
clear, monitorable actions in these and other areas. Many
donors also emphasized the importance of strengthening the framework for
free and fair National Assembly elections next year. Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen: During
the course of the meeting we have also stressed the critical linkages that
exist amongst the various aspects of the reform agenda and particularly
the overriding importance of good governance for poverty reduction. Good
governance, including anti-corruption, the rule of law and enhanced
transparency and accountability, as well as civil service reform, provides
the basis for private-sector-led economic growth, enhances the security of
the rights of the poor and provides incentives for effective provision of
basic public services, such as health, education, and rural infrastructure
which are critical to the quality of life of the poor. Throughout
our discussions we have focused attention on the overall issue of
implementation and on the need to translate strategies, policy
pronouncements, and the passage of laws and decrees into effective
implementation which enhances the accessibility and quality of services
and leads to real results in terms of poverty reduction and the
achievement of the other Millennium Development Goals. In this context we
have been encouraged by the work the Government is doing to operationalize
and implement its national poverty reduction strategy as well as develop
and implement sector-wide programs for education, health, and other areas.
We have also welcomed the increased focus on monitoring and evaluation of
policies, program implementation, and results. Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentleman: Throughout
this meeting we have stressed the importance of strengthening development
partnerships amongst Government, donors, civil society, and the private
sector. How we organize ourselves to work together is critical to whether
or not we collectively achieve our goal to reduce poverty in Cambodia. We
have recognized the progress made since our meeting in Tokyo. We have also
identified specific issues that need our attention in the coming year, and
agreed on the formation of a joint government-donor working group to
address these issues, including the overall issue of salary supplements.
External partners of Cambodia have also expressed individually and
collectively their continued commitment to provide technical and financial
support to Cambodia; and financial commitments for the coming year are
expected to total $635 million. But
donors have emphasized that continued support will depend on accelerated
and substantive progress on policy reform including urgent attention to
issues of anti-corruption and legal and judicial reform. Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen: In
conclusion, I would like to again thank my co-chair, His Excellency Senior
Minister Keat Chhon, for his support and to thank you all for your
valuable inputs and suggestions during the course of the meeting – and
for your support of our new traffic light system! I would also like to
thank, on behalf of all of us, the Royal Government for the arrangements
made for this meeting. I look very much forward to meeting again towards
the end of 2003 in Phnom Penh. Thank you for your attention, and this Consultative Group meeting is now closed. |
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