CDC - Speech by H.E. SOK AN, Senior Minister

“GOVERNANCE ACTION PLAN”

Speech by H.E. SOK AN

Senior Minister, Minister in charge of
The Office of the Council of Ministers, and
Chairman of the Council for Administrative Reform

Consultative Group Meeting
Phnom Penh
19—21 June 2002

Your Excellency, the Prime Minister
Honorable Colleagues in Government
Your Excellencies and Representatives
Distinguished Guests
Delegates of national and international organizations
Representatives of the private sector, and officials of the public administration
Ladies and Gentlemen

Cambodia has enjoyed peace, stability and social order, after a long period of war. Institutions are being revamped and new ones are being created to serve a Constitution based on principles of peace and security, a pluralist democracy, human rights, a market economy, a country opened to the World. The overarching objective is to make the State an effective partner to reduce poverty, to sustain development and to enhance social justice. There is a broad based consensus for the basic tenets of a good governance policy and action plan. At issue is how best to mobilize available resources and marshal them towards priorities. At issue also, is how best to strengthen the capacity of Cambodian institutions and officials to plan and implement change and to sustain the course of reforms.

With the formation of the present government in 1998 and building on progress made, attention turned to putting in place necessary conditions for realizing the Government’s political agenda as endorsed by the National Assembly and the Senate. The Government undertook to accelerate Cambodia’s pursuit of good governance by State institutions and to reform these institutions as critical pegs to its strategy. At the Tokyo Consultative Group meeting in 1999, (a mere four months into its mandate) the Royal Government committed to accelerating its quest for good governance and the Rule of Law.

Shortly thereafter, the Royal Government commissioned and facilitated studies to gauge the state of governance within State institutions and point to elements of solution to further the cause of good governance. Lidee Khmer conducted one such study on governance and corruption, with World Bank support. Another on governance and sustainable development was conducted by CDRI, with ADB support. They complemented and built upon numerous consultants’ reports on governance-related issues in almost every field of government activity including assessment of the state of the Rule of Law.

By March 2000, the Royal Government undertook extensive consultations to prepare the first Governance Action Plan (GAP) by way of a national symposium on Democracy, Good Governance and Transparency in the Asian Context. The symposium brought together representatives from all stakeholders to discuss and suggest priority actions to enhance governance in Cambodia.

The Royal Government undertook the preparation of the Governance Action Plan and presented an initial draft at the Paris Consultative Group meeting in 2000. The draft GAP was then subjected to further detailed consultations and revisions before being approved by the Council of Ministers, in March 2001.

The Plan is a rolling strategic framework that provides a consistent and transparent approach to coordinate efforts better in eight priority areas: the Legal and Judicial Reform, Administrative Reform and Deconcentration, Decentralization and Local Governance, Public Finance Reform, Anti-corruption, Gender Equity, Demobilization and Reform of the Armed Forces, and the reform of Natural Resources Management.

The scope of the GAP reflects the magnitude of the work at hand. It is a holistic compendium of initiatives, either underway or planned, by the various ministries and councils responsible for their respective change programs. To date, GAP initiatives have focused mainly on strengthening or creating institutions, procedures and processes necessary for the State to abide by principles of good governance within its jurisdiction and assume requisite levers of governance.

Allow me to stress three points. First, we are making good progress on a wide front but we need to accelerate the pace of change particularly in areas relating to the preparation, adoption and enforcement of laws and regulations (a primary function of the State). Second, in one way or another, each and every GAP initiative addresses root causes of the Rule of Law and thus of social justice, sustainability and poverty alleviation. Last, but not least, our success as a country depends on available means. A key early lesson is that there is a direct correlation between the vigor of partnerships and the rate of progress. As I have said on many occasions, the best of plan without means remains a dream, a fairy tale.

To succeed, the Royal Government needs the cooperation of all its partners, the legislative and judiciary branches of the State, the private sector, the civil society, donors... And, especially, the Administration (the Public Service) must be an effective partner to all. To do that, we need to set direction, to design and implement a realistic change agenda, to coordinate efforts, to provide an enabling environment. In one word, we need to manage.

Progress has been significant. In some instances, progress has been momentous, in others, it has been wanting. Yet, there has been progress on every front, from Legal and Judicial Reform to Fisheries Management. In most areas, year one initiatives have been completed or are well underway to the point that it is opportune to start looking beyond 2003. It is also opportune to find ways to marshal available resources better.

Cambodia and its people are at peace. This is a period of renewed stability and security. A period the Royal Government is determined to use to build institutions, a framework and an environment, propitious to sustainable development, social justice and poverty reduction. National communal elections were held as a first step to empower people to take charge; agreement and core financing will be in place shortly to accelerate the legal and judicial reforms; essential tools to manage the Civil Service and to manage the Administrative Reform are now in place; a multi-year, multi-million dollar program has been launched to register and issue land titles; the National Audit Authority was established and its first ever report is due in a few months. These are but a few examples.

I will spare you the details of progress made. The Aide Memoire and its annex provide ample details. There is one point though that I would like to emphasize. The Tokyo “benchmarks” have been met, for the most part. I believe that we can all be proud of progress made. Yet, we must do more and better. I look forward to our discussion on setting new “benchmarks” for the coming year. For our part, we are looking for ways to accelerate the pace of reforms.

While early initiatives in GAP primarily focused on establishing institutions and processes, the next GAP would focus on empowerment: accelerating Rule of Law initiatives in support of social justice, trade, commerce and investment; strengthening checks-and-balances institutions; focusing efforts better on social development and poverty reduction; further integrating Cambodia into the family of Nations with a view to optimizing opportunities for pro-poor trade and investment; and, not the least combating corruption. The envisaged GAP II is foremost about meeting necessary conditions to poverty alleviation. The next GAP is about supporting the PRAP and SEDP II.

The Aide Memoire points to future direction in each of the areas of focus, it also suggests that two new areas be introduced into the next GAP: social development and integration into the world economy. Ministries and councils have been busy articulating or revising their sections in light of developments. Internal consultations have reached their final stage before opening up consultations to all stakeholders. We are here to listen to your suggestions so that we could fine-tune the documentation before we circulate it to all in the coming weeks. Our objective is to have an updated GAP by the end of the year.

The challenges we face collectively are well known and well documented. The most important include:

	The very scope and breath of reforms underway strain available resources.
	Technical capabilities are limited and operating resources are few.
	Change teams do not have adequate means to support their mission.
	The widespread use of counter-productive procedures and mechanisms.
	Important time lag between conception and implementation.

If I may say so, the Royal Government’s PMG program could go a long way in addressing each of those challenges. Your support in this regard will be crucial to our future success.

Before closing there are two issues I would like to raise. Corruption and the Legal and Judicial Reform

The Royal Government is conscious that corruption poses a threat not only to democratic institutions and fundamental rights and freedoms, but it also undermines socio-economic development and deepens the poverty of millions the world over. It provokes irrational decision-making, disrupts the development of the private sector and undermines the environment for sustainable development. The issue is not whether corruption should be fought but rather how and with what means.

The Royal Government has elected to approach corruption with a holistic set of measures that address root causes of corruption not only symptoms. Indeed, ways and means to increase risks associated with corrupt practices are an integral part of a strategy. But codes, rules and laws cannot do it. Effective and fair enforcement mechanisms are the necessary complement to any legal framework. The Royal Government is actively building such capability while it is putting the finishing touch to what would become an enforceable framework.

Let’s remind ourselves, if need be, that the RGC was the first government in the region to commission a survey on corruption. The Governance Action Plan itself was designed as a sweeping instrument to correct causes to corrupt practices as identified in the survey and other studies. Most planned actions, if not all, address aspects of the problem. The GAP is a comprehensive and ambitious program to combat corruption. Systematic and sustained efforts are arduous. We are now preparing an anti-corruption strategy to better focus efforts (much like the PRAP does for SEDP II). We expect to be in position to consult with external partners in a few months before the strategy is finalized and approved.

For the record, please allow me to reiterate tenets of the strategy being developed by the Royal Government:

1	The legal framework and procedures must be set in ways that respect the well known principles of good governance particularly as they relate to the delivery of public services;

2	The general public and clients of public services must be aware of and understand that legal framework and procedures;

3	Civil servants must understand them and have the necessary skills and means to implement them effectively and fairly;

4	Requisite logistical support in terms of equipment and operating budget, for example, must be in place and timely;
5	Oversight mechanisms and measures must be in place and institutions to control and monitor implementation must be empowered;

6	Mechanisms to sanction or prosecute wrongdoers must be fair and predictable.

The Aide Memoire points to urgent priority actions. Please allow me to quote:

“Early priorities to complement those already identified include the development of an integrated anti-corruption strategy in consultation with stakeholders, the establishment of an Ombudsman Office to protect the interests and rights of clients of public services, the streamlining and computerization of service delivery processes to improve transparency, responsiveness and accountability and thus to reduce opportunities for corrupt practices, accelerating the development and adoption of the Anti-corruption Law to deter corrupt practices, and facilitating the adoption of anti-corruption codes by all stakeholders. It takes a giver to have a recipient.”

The Legal and Judicial Reform is a key to achieving our societal objectives. The Khmer Rouge regime was particularly harsh on the country’s legal and judicial systems and ruthless with the men and women operating them. The re-establishment of the Rule of Law became an early priority. With the advent of the new government following the 1998 elections, strengthening the Rule of Law became an integral part of the political platform. As we all know, respect for the Rule of Law and an independent judiciary are the cornerstones of a functioning democracy and a free market economy.

For a variety of reasons, progress is not as rapid as we would have liked. Yet, there has been important progress. On the legal side, important laws were enacted laws relating to investment, trade and commerce to a law on land management. The Land Law is a significant achievement of participatory democracy to address a core cause of poverty: landlessness. The Penal Code and Procedures are being readied for presentation to the Council of Ministers and referral to the Legislative Branch early in 2003, with the Civil Code and Procedures following within a matter of months. The formulation of an agenda to complete the legal framework is well advanced; final adjustments to the sequencing of laws will be part of upcoming consultations.

On the judicial side, the cadre of men and women is being strengthened and capacity building efforts are being accelerated. The law on the Statute of the Magistracy will be forwarded to the Legislative shortly. Amendments to the law on the Supreme Council of the Magistracy have been completed. A Royal School of Magistracy is being established to form and develop staff within the judiciary. Law enforcement officers and lawyers are being trained. Resources are being mobilized. Special purpose and circuit tribunals or courts have been piloted with a view to improve access. Budgets for the Judiciary are being reviewed and will be separated from that of the Executive. H.E. Dith Munty, Chairman of the Council for Judicial Reform will expand on the matter.

And, not least, the management of the Legal and Judicial reform is being strengthened with the establishment of the Council for Legal and Judicial Reform.

The immediate policy priorities are to complete the work relating to both the Civil Code and the Penal Code and to set an agreed to agenda to facilitate Cambodia’s integration in the world economy. The immediate operational priorities are to strengthen capacity to manage the reform, to mobilize requisite partnerships and to secure required financing.

At the request of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers, we are now accelerating the reform of Cambodia’s legal system and doing everything we can to facilitate the reform of the judiciary. Required studies and consultations on how best to address these very difficult reforms have been completed. The Royal Government is now fleshing out its strategy and program of action based on the draft strategy we circulated at the Consultative Group meeting last year. We plan to hold detailed consultations with all stakeholders in the coming months before finalizing our course of action by the end of this year.

Please allow me to briefly outline key tenets of the Legal Reform. It covers a very broad front and the breath of initiatives planned or underway is daunting. The strategy is being articulated around six primary objectives:

	Improve the protection of fundamental rights of all Cambodians
	Improve the legislative framework
	Provide better access to legal and judicial information
	Enhance quality of legal services
	Strengthen judicial services
	Introduce alternative dispute resolution mechanisms

Our approach is comprehensive and participative. The action plan being prepared spans over three years to 2005. Our immediate next steps are to strengthen the capacity to plan and manage the reform, to secure required financing and to launch an extensive consultation before finalizing the strategy and work program. I sincerely hope that today’s discussion will lead to most a fruitful collaboration in governance matters and give way to intensive consultations over the coming months.

Thank you for your kind attention.