Government claims victory for rectangular strategy

By Neth Preaktra

The Mekong Times

The implementation of the government’s “rectangular strategy” has been a success, government officials claimed Thursday.The rectangular strategy, a cluster of priority policies, would achieve progress, prosperity, harmony and happiness for the Cambodian people, said Prime Minister Hun Sen when he launched the strategy in July 2004.Cabinet Minister Sok An on Thursday gushed that the rectangular strategy had “brought in victory and achievement which are the basis for promotion of people’s health, the economy, job creation and poverty reduction.” Speaking at a three-day national conference on the rectangular strategy that began Thursday, Sok An admitted there were some niggles to be ironed out. However, such changes would only further “promote people’s living conditions and the national economy, and reduce poverty,” he claimed.Hun Sen’s assessment was equally glowing. “Overall, the third mandate government has achieved a great deal … [including] strengthening peace, social security and democracy,” the premier claimed. “[The rectangular strategy] has given us the opportunity to carry out decentralization and concentration policies and continue implementing reform programs.” Hun Sen stressed efforts to strengthen state institutions and implement socio-economic policy as his government’s major achievements, saying he had the support of the Cambodian people, development partners and the private sector.A recent International Republican Institute (IRI) survey seemed to agree with the premier’s assessment, with 77 percent of 2000 respondents though Cambodia was “headed in the right direction.” Only 20 percent the Kingdom was headed the wrong way in the IRI’s much-maligned data. The three-day national conference will see government officials and development partners appraise the progress of the rectangular strategy and list challenges encountered during its implementation. The conference will finish Sunday.