6th December, 2008
Opinion by Khmerization
Cambodia has been aid-dependent for as long as one can remember. Cambodia has been reduced to the status of international beggar for one reason and that is due to the incompetence and the corrupt mentality of our clumsy leaders.
For the last 15 years or so, Cambodia has received international assistance to the tune of $600-$700 million annually. Yet, Cambodia is still one of the poorest countries in the world. This week, the international community has pledged $1 billion, its biggest aid package to Cambodia since 1993.
Cambodians of all circles and political persuasions, politics aside, should appreciate this generous assistance to our unfortunate nation. I for one, is thankful that the international community has not abandoned Cambodia, despite the world economic slowdown and despite the mismanagement of the present Cambodian government. While I appreciate this generous assistance, I’m also disappointed that the international donors are giving so much money to be managed by a corrupt regime without having the need for any accountability measures attached.
The anti-corruption laws, which have been demanded by donors and promised by Mr. Hun Sen so many times before, have not yet been approved by the Cambodian People’s Party-dominated parliament, 14 years after they were drafted. The bloated bureaucracy, of which a large portion of the national budget was spent on the salary of its idle bureaucrats, has got larger every year. The corrupt judiciary, the army, the police and the civil and public services have not been reformed, despite Mr. Hun Sen’s promises in previous donors meetings. Deforestations and human right abuses such as land-grabbing and forced evictions are still happening in a larger scale. These are some of Mr. Hun Sen’s unfulfilled promises. Yet, the donor countries pour an enormous sum of aid money into the hands of this incompetent and corrupt administration without putting any punitive measures in place should Mr. Hun Sen fail again to fulfil his often-broken promises.
This year’s promises are no different from the previous years. Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday opened the meeting promising foreign donors he would fight corruption with a new anti-graft law as soon as possible. How soon, no one knows because the same promises like this has been said by Mr. Hun Sen for the last 15 years, but the anti-corruption laws are still not being enacted into laws yet.
The aid money has been pledged, and like previous years, will be given regardless of whether Mr. Hun Sen kept his promises or not. We, as Cambodians, including the opposition parties, who love our nation, Cambodia, must be appreciative of this generous assistance. The only things we can do now is to campaign and push for accountability. The role of the opposition parties in any democratic countries is to keep checks and balances. They are there to monitor the performances of the government and expose their shortcomings to the public. While our Cambodian voters are not as well-educated and well-informed as voters in developed democracies, the opposition parties in Cambodia can still put pressures on the government and makes them accountable by effectively exposing their failings to the international community, the Cambodia-based international organisations and foreign embassies.
This aid money, while it will help boost the Cambodian economy tremendously, is more likely to help strengthen and solidify the iron fist rule of Prime Minister Hun Sen. While we, as conscious citizens of Cambodia, are not contented with the corrupt rule of Mr. Hun Sen, we have to be contented that he has successfully convinced the international donors to give his regime and our nation, Cambodia, generously. We must acknowledge that he is a master of convincing.//
Opinion by Khmerization
“This aid money, while it will help boost the Cambodian economy tremendously, is more likely to help strengthen and solidify the iron fist rule of Prime Minister Hun Sen. While we, as conscious citizens of Cambodia, are not contented with the corrupt rule of Mr. Hun Sen, we have to be contented that he has successfully convinced the international donors to give his regime and our nation, Cambodia, generously. We must acknowledge that he is a master of convincing.”
Cambodia has been aid-dependent for as long as one can remember. Cambodia has been reduced to the status of international beggar for one reason and that is due to the incompetence and the corrupt mentality of our clumsy leaders.
For the last 15 years or so, Cambodia has received international assistance to the tune of $600-$700 million annually. Yet, Cambodia is still one of the poorest countries in the world. This week, the international community has pledged $1 billion, its biggest aid package to Cambodia since 1993.
Cambodians of all circles and political persuasions, politics aside, should appreciate this generous assistance to our unfortunate nation. I for one, is thankful that the international community has not abandoned Cambodia, despite the world economic slowdown and despite the mismanagement of the present Cambodian government. While I appreciate this generous assistance, I’m also disappointed that the international donors are giving so much money to be managed by a corrupt regime without having the need for any accountability measures attached.
The anti-corruption laws, which have been demanded by donors and promised by Mr. Hun Sen so many times before, have not yet been approved by the Cambodian People’s Party-dominated parliament, 14 years after they were drafted. The bloated bureaucracy, of which a large portion of the national budget was spent on the salary of its idle bureaucrats, has got larger every year. The corrupt judiciary, the army, the police and the civil and public services have not been reformed, despite Mr. Hun Sen’s promises in previous donors meetings. Deforestations and human right abuses such as land-grabbing and forced evictions are still happening in a larger scale. These are some of Mr. Hun Sen’s unfulfilled promises. Yet, the donor countries pour an enormous sum of aid money into the hands of this incompetent and corrupt administration without putting any punitive measures in place should Mr. Hun Sen fail again to fulfil his often-broken promises.
This year’s promises are no different from the previous years. Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday opened the meeting promising foreign donors he would fight corruption with a new anti-graft law as soon as possible. How soon, no one knows because the same promises like this has been said by Mr. Hun Sen for the last 15 years, but the anti-corruption laws are still not being enacted into laws yet.
The aid money has been pledged, and like previous years, will be given regardless of whether Mr. Hun Sen kept his promises or not. We, as Cambodians, including the opposition parties, who love our nation, Cambodia, must be appreciative of this generous assistance. The only things we can do now is to campaign and push for accountability. The role of the opposition parties in any democratic countries is to keep checks and balances. They are there to monitor the performances of the government and expose their shortcomings to the public. While our Cambodian voters are not as well-educated and well-informed as voters in developed democracies, the opposition parties in Cambodia can still put pressures on the government and makes them accountable by effectively exposing their failings to the international community, the Cambodia-based international organisations and foreign embassies.
This aid money, while it will help boost the Cambodian economy tremendously, is more likely to help strengthen and solidify the iron fist rule of Prime Minister Hun Sen. While we, as conscious citizens of Cambodia, are not contented with the corrupt rule of Mr. Hun Sen, we have to be contented that he has successfully convinced the international donors to give his regime and our nation, Cambodia, generously. We must acknowledge that he is a master of convincing.//
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