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The 2nd
Cambodia Development Cooperation Forum
Le Palais du Gouvernement (CDC), 3-5 December 2008
Topic on: "Strengthening public sector management through sub-national democratic
development"
Presented by HE. Sak
Setha,
Secretary of State, Ministry of Interior
-
Your Excellence DPM, Minister of Economy and Finance
- Excellencies, Senior Officials of National Ministries,
- Distinguished Delegates from our development partners,
- Ladies and Gentlemen
It is my great honor on behalf of the Ministry of Interior and the National
Committee for the Management of D&D Reforms to participate in this session of
the 2nd Cambodia Development Cooperation Forum focused on
"Strengthening public sector management through sub-national democratic
development". As you are all by now aware, in May 2008 the Organic Law on
Administrative Management of the Capital, Province, Municipality, District and
Khan was adopted by the Royal Government representing an historic step forward
in our governance reform efforts.
Vision, policies and principles
The overall vision of the government in relation to the establishment
and functioning of a multi-tiered system of local government has been well
articulated. In line with the Rectangular Strategy, the Strategic Framework for
Decentralization and Deconcentration Reforms of the Government of Cambodia
envisions the implementation of a system of sub national government to "promote
local development and delivery of public services to meet the needs of citizens
and contribute to poverty reduction within the respective territories." The
policies and principles guiding the implementation of the necessary reforms are
also set out in the Framework, have been incorporated into the Organic Law, have
been discussed in various fora over the last number of years and I will not
repeat them here. However, perhaps it is timely today for me to recap a little
on our overall approach to D&D before I talk about progress towards our D&D
policy goals.
Government's approach to D&D
Decentralising and deconcentrating government functions is of course a massive,
complex, long-tern change process, involving many challenges. It involves a
fundamental change in the way government carries out its business. Many
developing countries around the world have embarked on the decentralization
journey, seeking improved local democratic governance, improved public services
and, ultimately, a reduction in poverty. All have found it a difficult journey,
but there is broad agreement that it can bring many benefits to the nation and
its people. While there are many generic issues to be faced, and lessons to be
learned, there is no one international model that we can follow, and each
country must develop its own approach to fit its own circumstances.
To understand fully our approach to D&D we must understand the context or
environment in which the policy exists. When the government first began to look
at reforming the local government system, it was in the context of ensuring
continuing national unity and stability, after years of conflict. These
imperatives remain a central consideration for government. Secondly, unlike many
developing countries, Cambodia was faced with the challenge of establishing
virtually a new local government system, rather than reforming an existing,
fully functioning one. These considerations, together with other unique features
of the Cambodian context, have meant that the government has had to chart out
its own unique course on D&D. The government has taken the view that change
cannot be rushed, rather adopting a `learning by doing' approach, which has
served us well, and continues to inform our decisions.
Progress to date
Development and implementation of the D&D policies have been necessarily
slow, but we have made impressive progress to date, especially since 2002. We
now have fully functional, democratically elected local authorities, the Commune
and Sangkat Councils. These Councils are close to and accountable to the people
and as their capacity is built, they are growing in capability and importance
regarding service delivery. The National League of Commune and Sangkat
Councillors is now established country-wide, and has the potential to become an
important national focus for local government in terms of improved advocacy,
representation, local voice and accountability.
Of course the Commune / Sangkat level cannot provide the full range of public
services envisaged for local government. The Organic Law has been promulgated
and now provides the legal basis for implementing D&D through the Capital,
Provincial, Municipal, District, Khan, Commune and Sangkat councils. The Organic
Law also provides for a very powerful, well-resourced and representative
national implementation body, the National Committee for Democratic Development
at Sub-National Level (NCDD). The NCDD has the overall responsibility for
ensuring the implementation of the Law, and is given the specific task of
reviewing `the responsibilities and functions of ministries, institutions,
departments, offices and authorities at all levels to identify functions to be
transferred to sub-national councils'. The Royal Decree to formally
establish the new NCDD has been drafted and after one last round of high level
discussions is expected to be approved soon.
National Program for Sub-national Democratic Development
The next necessary stage is the development of a comprehensive national
implementation plan, to be known as the National Program for Sub-national
Democratic Development for 2010-2019. This national program will set out a
10-year strategy and implementation program that will cover both short term
implementation of the Organic Law and longer term strategies necessary to
achieve the strategic vision articulated in the Strategic Framework on D&D. Work
on the development of the programme began in September 2008, and the national
design team is currently engaged in facilitating a series of policy dialogues.
Three levels of dialogues are planned: the internal dialogue within government,
involving concerned ministries and agencies with representatives of sub-national
levels; the expanded dialogues with our development partners; and consultations
with the wider audience of sub-national levels and civil society. The first
dialogue on the overall objectives and strategies has already taken place, and
the second, on functional assignments to sub-national level, is currently
underway. The remaining three dialogues on local finance and budget,
accountability and oversight, and local management and administration will take
place early in 2009. Through this dialogue, consensus and understanding among
stakeholders will be developed which will guide and inform the new programme
formulation.
Council Elections 2009
As provided for in the Organic Law, the government has decided to hold
the indirect elections for the Capital, Province, Municipality, District and
Khan Councils on 17th May 2009. The Organic Law is, by its nature and
design, a broad framework law, and requires further definition and expansion in
law, through Sub-Decrees, Prakas and other instruments. The Ministry of
Interior, in support of the NCDD, is currently working on some of the
preliminary requirements, and on the preparations for training and information
dissemination, both before and after the elections.
Ongoing implementation issues
In seeking to achieve our objectives under the Vision, we need to be
optimistic and positive, but also realistic. The current position in Cambodia is
that virtually all delivery of basic social services in areas such as health,
education, agriculture, infrastructure and other pro-poor sectors is handled by
central government ministries and institutions. Financial, human and other
resources are firmly in the hands of the line ministries and institutions. The
passing of the Organic Law has been an important milestone in the implementation
of the D&D policy, and fundamental changes to the roles and responsibilities of
both central / line ministries and local authorities are now required. Making
these changes will be difficult, and will have to involve a change of attitude
as people adapt to their new roles and responsibilities. This will not happen
overnight and we will have to design good transition strategies so that momentum
is sustained while change is introduced. Capacity requirements will change
dramatically and will have to be addressed through well conceived capacity
development plans.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The success of the D&D reforms depends on the active involvement from a
wide range of institutions in both policy design and program implementation. We
know from experience that one Ministry or sector alone will never be able to
implement the wide ranging reforms necessary for D&D to contribute to national
goals laid out in the Rectangular Strategy and the National Strategic
Development Plan.
In closing, I would like to express my sincere appreciation for the valuable
contributions all of you have made to the D&D reform. I want to pay a special
tribute to our development partners for their continuing keen interest in, and
support of D&D; for their continuing participation in dialogue with government,
and for their generous financial and technical support. The Royal Government can
count on this support as we face the great challenges ahead and, through D&D
move towards achieving our common goals, including the Millennium Development
Goals.
Thank you |
