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KEY POLICY PRIORITIES AND ACTIONS: 2009-2013
As stated in the Rectangular Strategy Phase II, the Royal Government reaffirms its commitment to continuing to establish and strengthen partnership with national and external stakeholders in the development processes of the country. The four key policy priority areas for the Royal Government are thus:
Priority area 1 The Royal Government of the Fourth Legislature will continue to strengthen the mechanism of “Cambodia Development Cooperation Forum -CDCF” and “Government-Private Sector Forum” and consider the possibility to transform all these fora into the “Cambodia Development Forum” , which will serve as a mechanism for the Government and all development stakeholders, including development partner community, private sector, civil society, and as well as other concerned stakeholders to discuss issues related to both public and private sector development.
Priority area 2 The existing coordination mechanisms between the Royal Government and Development Partner Community (Government-Development Partner Coordination Committee- GDCC and the Technical Working Groups-TWGs) will be reviewed and further strengthened in order to enhance efficiency, especially on technical cooperation for development of human resources and institutional capacity.
Priority area 3 The Royal Government will continue to encourage NGOs and Associations that have been legally established and operate based on good governance principles to engage in the process of socio-economic rehabilitation and development.
Priority area 4 The Royal Government is committed to implement “the Accra Agenda for Action” to strengthen national ownership and leadership, and partnership and transparency with all development partners as well as to enhance result-based management. B. Actions to Implement the Policy Priorities Toward a comprehensive Cambodia Development Forum Poverty reduction and socio-economic development are intrinsically linked to an enhanced ability of the Royal Government to exercise ownership and provide leadership over the development processes in which all national and external stakeholders participate and where issues of national importance are discussed and actions agreed systematically and in an integrated and comprehensive manner with all stakeholders. The Royal Government envisages a comprehensive Cambodia Development Forum (CDF) which not only ensures that all development stakeholders, including the development partner community, the private sector, civil society organizations, and other concerned actors, are brought together to discuss issues related to both public and private sector development, but also that there is a close linkage between public and private sector investments, and more importantly, that public and private sector investments are mutually reinforcing and contribute to achieving the longer-term objective of socio-economic development of the country. Features of a CDF may include the following: i) A dialogue mechanism that is comprehensive and encompasses diversity of stakeholders. A comprehensive model of dialogue envisaged by the CDF will entail strong coordination of the modality of involvement of all relevant stakeholders in a manner that is integrated and mutually reinforcing. The Cambodia Development Cooperation Forum (CDCF) so far embodies the highest level partnerships between the Royal Government and the development partner community (including NGOs), where dialogue on strategic socio-economic development policies, guided by the Rectangular Strategy, takes place and the implementation of those policies is jointly monitored and associated with a financing framework that ensures development results and mutual accountability. The Government Private Sector Forum has provided a regular forum for the Royal Government to address issues on foreign investment promotion and improvement of the business and trade environment. This diversity of audience, and the associated different frameworks of dialogue and participation that have been established, will be critically reviewed and considered by the Royal Government to lay a foundation to move toward the CDF, and to ensure that the structures and formats of the CDF reflect the integrity of the diverse audience, coordination and effectiveness and efficiency. ii) A close linkage of planning, public investment and development assistance resources. To enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the use of public resources and those mobilized from development partners in supporting the implementation of national development priorities, there is a need to closely link development assistance resources and the Royal Government's public investment budget with the priorities identified in the National Strategic Development Plan. This will ensure that implementation of national priorities is managed such that available resources from both the national budget and external development partners are well targeted to achieved the desirable targets, the effectiveness and efficiency of the resources are maximized, and that the use of the resources is accountable and intended to achieve results. The Royal Government will further refine the methodology in preparing the National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) Update 2009-2013, and the preparation of a public investment resource envelope which provides an operational and financing tool to implement policy priorities identified in the NSDP. The Royal Government will continue to annually update the public investment requirements needed for implementing the NSDP through a three-year rolling Public Investment Program based on new inputs from line ministries and agencies. These methodological refinements will on the one hand ensure a closer linkage between Royal Government's policy priorities, the actions, programs and projects that line ministries and agencies plan to carry out to implement the prioritized policies, and the public investment resources required to implement the planned activities. On the other hand, this will forge a closer linkage between the public investment requirements identified through the planning process and the Royal Government's public investment budget and development assistance resources that will provide a medium term financing outlook for the Royal Government in the implementation of the NSDP. iii) An enhanced participation of the private sector in national development processes. The private sector has been the engine for economic growth over the last decade. Projections for the next five years, 2009-2013, show that the private sector will be one of the main sources of total investment for the country. The reforms that the Royal Government has been implementing—structural, governance, and trade facilitation, among others—have provided a sustainable foundation for the private sector to prosper and grow. To ensure strategic importance of private sector development in achieving national poverty reduction and socio-economic development, the Royal Government recognizes the importance of continuing to provide leadership for private sector engagement in the national development processes. Built on the success so far of the mechanism of dialogue between the Royal Government and the private sector in the Government Private Sector Forum, the Royal Government will make effort to further enhance participation of the private sector in the discussions to ensure not only the development of the sector itself but also its strategic importance and contribution to the wider socio-economic development of the country. Toward a strengthened GDCC-TWG mechanism The Government-Development Partner Coordination Committee (GDCC) and Technical Working Group (TWG) mechanisms will continue to provide the principal modes of dialogue between the Royal Government and its development partners. Their performance and structure will be monitored and reviewed to ensure that the partnerships between the Royal Government and its development partners are based on strengthened government ownership and accountability for development results. The Royal Government believes that the effectiveness and efficiency of the partnership mechanisms are guided by, and consistent with, the Government's continued commitment to the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (2005) and the implementation of the commitments included in the Accra Agenda for Action (2008). i) Leadership as a foundation for partnership. The Royal Government recognizes the need for strengthened leadership as a basis for the effective functioning of the partnership mechanisms. The Technical Working Groups will be appropriately supported to enable them to lead dialogue with development partners on key policies and strategies within their sector and reform areas. ii) Partnerships are accountable for development results. Partnerships are meaningful when the TWGs are not only the forum for discussion on issues but also where measures to address them are agreed and implementation jointly monitored by the Government and development partners. The TWG mechanism will be strengthened to support the monitoring of the implementation of development cooperation activities in the sector or area that they support. iii) Information as a tool to guide partnerships. The Royal Government considers the information that has been maintained on development cooperation activities as an important tool to guide dialogue with development partners. The Cambodia ODA Database, which is the Royal Government's information platform on development cooperation activities, will be customized to support the work related to planning and budgeting. Consistent with the global commitments in the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for the Action, the Royal Government will continue to work with development partners and NGOs to ensure timely, accurate and complete ODA information provision, and to support line ministries and TWGs in their efforts to use this information to strengthen their own planning and coordination processes as well as meeting their obligations to report to the national level. The Strategic Framework for Development Cooperation Management (2006-2010) formalizes Royal Government's institutional arrangements related to development cooperation management, including resource mobilization and allocations. The Royal Government will continue to work with development partners to implement the Strategic Framework to ensure that complete and accurate information on external assistance is available to be incorporated into the national planning and budgeting processes. Toward more enhanced and responsible civil society participation in national development processes The Royal Government considers civil society organizations (CSOs) as an important development partner in the national development processes. The Royal Government will continue to engage civil society organizations that have been legally formed and operate based on good governance principles in the process of socio-economic development of the country and encourage their responsible participation in monitoring the implementation of national development strategies and policies. This includes actions to: i) Strengthen the legal framework for CSOs. The Royal Government recognizes the need for a Law on Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and Associations as a legal framework for the functioning of NGOs and associations. The Government will continue to pursue the adoption and implementation of the Law in close consultation with relevant agencies and organizations. ii) Strengthen mechanisms for responsible CSO participation in dialogue processes. The Royal Government appreciates the active participation in national development processes of civil society organizations that are genuinely willing to contribute in both financial and operational resources. The Government considers the resources and expertise brought in by CSOs as an important input in the policy processes to reach the desirable development results. The Royal Government will continue to ensure rigorous participation of CSOs in the dialogue mechanisms. Toward more effective use of development resources The global consensus on more effective development resources as represented in the Accra Agenda for Action (AAA) will continue to be a reference point for the Royal Government in its effort to identify and implement relevant actions that will enhance the effectiveness of development assistance to support the achieving of the national development goals. The Royal Government's committed adaptation and implementation of the commitments in the AAA and the global commitments that will come out of the next High Level Forum in Seoul in 2011 will aim to ensure strengthened national ownership and leadership, more accountable partnership with all development partners and to enhance development results. Actions will focus on the following priority activities: i) Identifying and implementing relevant and prioritized actions at sector level. Experience of implementing the Harmonization, Alignment and Results Action Plan emphasized the need for rigorous government leadership in enhancing the effectiveness of development resources at the sector level. The Royal Government will continue to strengthen the joint process of identifying, agreeing, and monitoring jointly with development partners the implementation of the aid effectiveness priorities that are relevant to sector challenges and focused on achieving results. This prioritized and contextualized approach will continue to guide the aid effectiveness policies. ii) Increased net transfer of development resources An important outcome, that is a high priority of Royal Government, is to achieve a significant increase in the net transfer of resources in the implementation of development programs over the next five years. The Royal Government will work to achieve this in context of a less fragmented aid environment and an increased use of government systems in delivery of development cooperation activities. iii) Focus on effective capacity development. The Royal Government recognizes the primacy of strengthening human and institutional capacity to exercise ownership and leadership over the development processes. Partnerships with development partners must be steered toward this goal. The Royal Government will ensure that all externally supported technical cooperation will be primarily directed to develop national human and institutional capacities and systems in a manner that is consistent with the National Public Administration Reform (2009-2013). The Guideline on Technical Cooperation will be implemented and used to manage these resources at sectoral level as well as to guide support for implementing the core reform programmes of the Royal Government. iv) Increased use of programme-based approaches. The Royal Government recognizes the need to address the challenge posed by a fragmented environment of aid delivery and limited use of the government systems and procedures in implementing development cooperation activities. The Royal Government encourages the use of programme-based approaches to effectively exercise ownership and leadership over the implementation of national policy priorities supported by development partners, promote stronger partnership and ensure development results and accountability. In using programme-based approaches, the Royal Government will ensure that they support comprehensive planning and budgeting, alignment with national priorities, coordinated capacity development to strengthen national systems and human resources, minimize the adverse affect of fragmented and diverse funding sources, strengthened monitoring and evaluation systems, and provide a mechanism for enhanced mutual accountability of concerned national and external development stakeholders. v) Investing in partnerships. The Royal Government considers partnerships with all development partners an important policy priority critical for the successful implementation of the Rectangular Strategy Phase II, and is committed to an inclusive, robust and results-focused dialogue. In so doing, the Royal Government will ensure that partnerships with all development partners are founded on national ownership and leadership, mutual respect and accountability that aim at supporting the Royal Government in achieving its national development goals. Further investments will be made to strengthen the partnership mechanisms, including working with all development partners to ensure that appropriate resources and competencies are in place to make effective use of these opportunities to review progress, identify challenges and respond in a partnership-based and results-focused manner. |