Cambodia must get a fair deal for its natural resources, and the revenues should go towards improving the lives of its people
By Julian Boys
guardian.co.uk
Emerging from genocide and decades of civil war, Cambodia's discovery of oil raised hopes of faster development for the country – but also fears that the "resource curse" might strike again.
Oil production will come on line next year and local campaigners are racing to prevent Cambodia going the same way as countries such as Nigeria, where the industry has fuelled corruption and environmental catastrophe.
Things got off to a bad start, according to Global Witness. In 2009 it reported that oil exploration licences had been granted largely in secret, while the mining sites it investigated were all owned by the country's political and military elite. Since then, the public has not been consulted about the drafting of new laws governing extraction of natural resources.
Perhaps the lack of democratic values isn't surprising in a country where the prime minister has been in power for almost three decades. But despite the difficulties, grassroots organisations are pushing for Cambodia's oil to be managed in ways that allow citizens to see what the government does with the resulting revenues – and to hold it and oil companies accountable for their actions.
As the organisation Cambodians for Resource Revenue Transparency (CRRT) has said: "Open public discussion and access to information will help citizens of Cambodia to have access to processes of the company and financial information, and this will enable them to meaningfully participate in the debate on how revenues should be used and the types of development projects that matter to their lives."
There is some cause for hope – for instance, the ministry of economics and finance's disclosure on its website of information about the rental income it receives from the extractive industries for land usage. CRRT has called the move "a significant step in the right direction".
NGOs have also cautiously welcomed the government's attempt to require officials to reveal their own financial assets, a step that would significantly limit the scope for corruption. Whether this information will be independently audited and how it will be made public are as yet unanswered questions.
Of course, corruption is not just about officials accepting bribes – it also involves those paying them. A clause in America's recent Dodd-Frank Act requires all US-listed oil, gas and minerals companies to publish their payments to governments around the world, following intense pressure from the Publish What You Pay coalition.
This kind of transparency would help Cambodians to hold their politicians to account, and make it harder for outsiders to buy off political elites.
But there are other ways to loot a country of its resources, which remain open to rich and powerful global players. Christian Aid estimates that tax dodging by multinational companies costs developing countries around $160bn (£99bn) a year.
A UNDP report last month found that illicit financial outflows from Cambodia related to trade mispricing amounted to $406m over the three years from 1999 to 2001. International groups with powerful teams of accountants and lawyers can easily shift profits into tax havens, at the expense of under-resourced tax authorities in poor countries.
Cambodia currently depends on aid for around half of its national budget but natural resources such as oil could be the basis for the country to take charge of its development and improve the lives of its people. For that potential to be realised, though, governments must throw light into the shadows where corruption and tax avoidance can thrive.
• Julian Boys is economic justice researcher at Christian Aid.
Full version of extract at guardian.co.uk
By Julian Boys
guardian.co.uk
Emerging from genocide and decades of civil war, Cambodia's discovery of oil raised hopes of faster development for the country – but also fears that the "resource curse" might strike again.
Oil production will come on line next year and local campaigners are racing to prevent Cambodia going the same way as countries such as Nigeria, where the industry has fuelled corruption and environmental catastrophe.
Things got off to a bad start, according to Global Witness. In 2009 it reported that oil exploration licences had been granted largely in secret, while the mining sites it investigated were all owned by the country's political and military elite. Since then, the public has not been consulted about the drafting of new laws governing extraction of natural resources.
Perhaps the lack of democratic values isn't surprising in a country where the prime minister has been in power for almost three decades. But despite the difficulties, grassroots organisations are pushing for Cambodia's oil to be managed in ways that allow citizens to see what the government does with the resulting revenues – and to hold it and oil companies accountable for their actions.
As the organisation Cambodians for Resource Revenue Transparency (CRRT) has said: "Open public discussion and access to information will help citizens of Cambodia to have access to processes of the company and financial information, and this will enable them to meaningfully participate in the debate on how revenues should be used and the types of development projects that matter to their lives."
There is some cause for hope – for instance, the ministry of economics and finance's disclosure on its website of information about the rental income it receives from the extractive industries for land usage. CRRT has called the move "a significant step in the right direction".
NGOs have also cautiously welcomed the government's attempt to require officials to reveal their own financial assets, a step that would significantly limit the scope for corruption. Whether this information will be independently audited and how it will be made public are as yet unanswered questions.
Of course, corruption is not just about officials accepting bribes – it also involves those paying them. A clause in America's recent Dodd-Frank Act requires all US-listed oil, gas and minerals companies to publish their payments to governments around the world, following intense pressure from the Publish What You Pay coalition.
This kind of transparency would help Cambodians to hold their politicians to account, and make it harder for outsiders to buy off political elites.
But there are other ways to loot a country of its resources, which remain open to rich and powerful global players. Christian Aid estimates that tax dodging by multinational companies costs developing countries around $160bn (£99bn) a year.
A UNDP report last month found that illicit financial outflows from Cambodia related to trade mispricing amounted to $406m over the three years from 1999 to 2001. International groups with powerful teams of accountants and lawyers can easily shift profits into tax havens, at the expense of under-resourced tax authorities in poor countries.
Cambodia currently depends on aid for around half of its national budget but natural resources such as oil could be the basis for the country to take charge of its development and improve the lives of its people. For that potential to be realised, though, governments must throw light into the shadows where corruption and tax avoidance can thrive.
• Julian Boys is economic justice researcher at Christian Aid.
Full version of extract at guardian.co.uk
4 comments:
Cambodia's oil buying more high tech weapons to protect cambodian territory...Strengthening cambodian military...Rebuild our country of-course, economy...
The author of this article is right in term potential curse for Cambodia if it doesn't manage it right. My suggestion is Cambodia government should use the revenue to invest and interests gain use it to support social progams and assist Cambodian to start their business so that they can survive on their own in the future.
I hope Cambodia won't becomes an "oil curse" like Nigeria. But seeing rampant corruption everywhere in Cambodia, Cambodia might just become an oil curse like Nigeria, where abundant of oil are flowing but the country and the people are getting poorer and poorer because of corruption.
I hate how foreigners compare us to Africans when we are asians. Hopefully we wouldn't be like nigeria. I hate the term Cambodia is Africa. The money should be used to revitalize Cambodia strengthen it's military and economy. Better conditions for our people. At the same time increase our position within asia especially.
Post a Comment