Contacts: In Phnom Penh: Bou Saroeun (855) 12-217-301 sbou@worldbank.org In Washington:Elisabeth Mealey 202) 458-4475 emealey@worldbank.org WASHINGTON D.C., December 3, 2008 — The World Bank Group today approved a US$20 million grant for the Demand for Good Governance (DFGG) Project in Cambodia to help enhance citizens’ engagement in development and governance processes, and government responsiveness to their demands. Good governance is increasingly recognized as a fundamental prerequisite for sustainable development. Its opposite—corruption—is also recognized as a major impediment to efficient and effective government, with a disproportionate impact on the poor. Stimulating citizen demand for better governance has become a fundamental tool for more transparency and accountability in public affairs, and an integral part of the World Bank’s governance and anti-corruption strategy. The DFGG Project represents an integral part of the World Bank’s efforts to tackle governance issues in Cambodia. Even though the country has achieved impressive economic progress over the last decades, governance remains a key impediment for broad-based development and further poverty reduction. Corruption, weak public institutional accountability, and frail oversight institutions and mechanisms have a direct impact on citizens’ daily lives. They hinder foreign investment and job creation, deprive the Government of much needed revenues, and contribute to causing more than a third of Cambodians to live in poverty. This innovative Project will seek to enhance the demand for good governance in priority reform areas in Cambodia by strengthening institutions, supporting partnerships, and sharing lessons. It will do so by promoting so called “demand-side” approaches, which strengthen the ability of citizens, civil society organizations, and other non-state actors to work constructively with government and to hold it accountable. These approaches also enhance the capacity of the government to become more responsive to citizens. “This project is part of the Bank’s response to calls for broader engagement in governance reform in Cambodia. The Bank has provided leadership on supporting the public sector governance reform in the past. Now it is a great time to work with a broad range of stakeholders such as the government, private sector, civil society, donors, parliamentarians, and media, to create a stronger demand for good governance,” saidQimiao Fan, the World Bank Country Manager for Cambodia. The Government and civil society initiatives that will be supported under the Project will seek to improve governance in the four priority reform areas: private sector development, natural resource management, public financial management, and decentralization and citizens’ partnerships for better governance. The Project will provide institutional support to the following four state agencies that have implemented successful DFGG programs and shown commitment to improving governance: the Arbitration Council, the Ministry of National Assembly-Senate Relations and Inspection, the Ministry of Interior for the One Window Services Office and District Ombudsman, and Radio National of Kampuchea for their Talk Back Radio program. “The Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) welcomes and appreciates the World Bank’s support for the governance reform agenda in Cambodia,” said His Excellency Sar Kheng, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior. “This Project is consistent with the RGC’s Rectangular Strategy for Growth, Employment, Equity and Efficiency, which has good governance at its core. The DFGG project will provide the opportunities to strengthen capacity of both state and non-state institutions and foster their partnerships in order to enhance effectiveness in policy implementation and service delivery, as response to the aspirations of the Cambodian people.” The grants and capacity-building assistance will be provided to grassroots organizations, civil society, independent media, labor unions, and other non-state actors through development marketplace competitions. These grants will go to activities that complement and support the work of selected state institutions, as well as to support non-state-led initiatives that strengthen DFGG in the four priority reform areas. “The DFGG project may be a pioneering effort in terms of the Bank’s engagement on governance that recognizes that the Government alone cannot address the multiple dimensions of governance challenges – no matter how much it is supported by donors – unless there is a complementary effort involving citizens and a broader range of stakeholders,” said Bhuvan Bhatnagar, World Bank DFGG Project Task Team Leader. “One must also bear in mind, though, that no single project can address all the challenges for strengthening DFGG. Therefore a comprehensive long-term effort is required of which this project is one modest piece,” Bhatnagar added. The total of this four-year project is US$25.28 million, in which US$3.62 million will come from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), and the rest from the grant that the International Development Association – the World Bank’s concessional lending arm for low income countries - has provided to the RGC. |
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