Thailand donates medical equipment to Cambodia for bird flu control [-Thai generosity is mainly aimed at preventing cross border contagion]

June 26, 2007

The Thai government has provided the Cambodian government with medicines and medical equipment for the prevention and control of bird flu, local newspapers reported Tuesday.

 The aid, approved at a signing ceremony at the Cambodian Ministry of Health, is in the framework of a joint project to fight avian influenza signed by Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Thailand, Chea Moneth, Deputy Director of the Communicable Disease Control Department in the Health Ministry, was quoted by the Koh Santepheap as saying.

 The donation consists of 53 bird flu testing kits, four cases of masks, nine cases of N95 masks, 17 cases of Latex gloves, four cases of hand-washing gel, and seven bags of Surveillance and Rapid Response Team (SRRT) equipment, the newspaper said.

 The Thai government has spent 2.5 million U.S. dollars on the aid from a fund it set up in 2005 to help the Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy (ACMECS) fight outbreaks of the virus, reported the Kampuchea Thmey newspaper.

 The aid aims to strengthen the capacity of hospitals in the border provinces of Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, it added.

 Source: Xinhua

 

Neak Loeung Bridge construction to be completed before the end of 2008

Thursday, June 21, 2007
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

The construction plan for the Neak Loeung bridge, or the second bridge crossing the Mekong River, will be completed by the end of 2008. This claim was made by Chhim Phalla, an official from the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation and a facilitator working with the Japanese JICA organization, to the Rasmei Kampuchea newspaper on Tuesday.

Chhim Phalla said that the construction plan is progressing smoothly and the work being currently performed is the environmental impact study of the bridge construction.

Chhim Phalla said that the environmental impact study will be completed by 2007, and after that, Japan will submit the project to a bidding process to select a construction consultant company and a contractor for the construction of the bridge.

The Neak Loeung bridge will have a span of 2,500-meter, and will cost about $74 million to build. The height of the bridge at its mid-deck will be 37.5-meter so that even during rainy season (when the water level is at its highest), ships can travel underneath it easily. 

Source: http://www.ki-media.blogspot.com/

Donor countries push Cambodian government to rethink about civil servants salaries

22 June 2007
By Keo Pech Metta
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy

A group of donor countries, including the UK, USAID, the World Bank, the European Union, has pushed the Royal Government of Cambodia to use to a pay scale for civil servants commensurate to the working ability of each civil servant.

Bou Saroeun, a WB liaison officer in Phnom Penh, said that the donors who are development partners (with the Cambodian government) have put to test this pay scale system for a period of 5 years, starting from 2006, by providing a $7 million funding of aid for the test to be conducted at the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Bou Saroeun said: “In the past, all the donor countries gave out salaries according their individual plan, therefore, we want to strengthen this salary issue in the entire country. So instead of paying supplementary salary, we pay according to the skills (of the employees) instead. This means that civil servants who are providing the various services, if they do a good job, their salaries will also reflect this.”

In a meeting held in Phnom Penh of 21 June 2007 regarding the idea of using a pay scale commensurate with civil servants’ quality of work, Keat Chhon, the minister of Economy and Finance, said that his ministry has adopted a pay scale for civil servants commensurate with the quality of their work starting from May 2005, and up to now, good results have been obtained because these civil servants pay attention to their work, and are highly responsible.Dr Hang Chuan Naron, secretary-general of the ministry of economy and finance, indicated that for the testing of the use of the pay scale commensurate with the quality of the works at his ministry, five groups have been set up: (1) the group of secretary-generals and deputy secretary-generals who earn (monthly) between $565 and $679, (2) directors and deputy directors who earn between $406 and $508, (3) office directors or group directors who earn between $226 and $256, (4) deputy office directors or Oddam Montrei who earn between $203 and $226, and (5) for other civil servants and clerks who are supported by the salary reform program, and earn between $50 to $126.

WB’s Bou Saroeun said the donor countries want to see all civil servants working at the Ministry of Economy and Finance be subjected to a pay scale commensurate to their quality of their work (rather than just for the lower levels civil servants working at the ministry)

. Source: http://www.ki-media.blogspot.com/

Cambodia supports Pakistan as full dialogue partner for ASEAN [in exchange for $10 million loan from Pakistan]

PHNOM PENH, June 23 (Xinhua)

The Cambodian government fully supports Pakistan as full dialogue partner for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), local media reported Saturday.

Cambodian Foreign Minister Hor Nam Hong has told newly appointed Pakistan Ambassador Mohammad Younis Khan that Cambodia supported Pakistan which was proposed to be full dialogue partner with ASEAN, Sin Bun Thoeurn, head of press department of the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, was quoted by the Raksmey Kampuchea Daily as saying.

Meanwhile, Cambodia and Pakistan will improve bilateral ties and cooperation through the embassy in Phnom Penh, which was opened in 2005, Sin Bun Thoeurn said.

Hor Nam Hong also urged the Pakistan side to help implement the project with 10 million U.S. dollars of loan for an irrigation system in Kampong Speu province, which was pledged by Pakistan while its premier Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali visited Cambodia in 2004, Sin Bun Thoeurn added. 

Donors pledge US$689m for 2007 to impoverished Cambodia

Posted: 20 June 2007 2259 hrs

 

 

PHNOM PENH : Cambodia’s donors pledged 689 million dollars to the impoverished country Wednesday, including tens of millions from China, which participated in the annual aid meeting for the first time.

The money for the coming year was promised despite strong concerns over rampant corruption and demands by rights groups that donors get tough on the government’s apparent refusal to reform.

“Our development partners saw our financial performance is good and this is why the amount of aid was increased,” Finance Minister Keat Chhon told reporters after the meeting. This year’s pledges mark a significant increase over the 601 million dollars offered last year. “We have taken several concrete and important steps towards accelerating progress,” Keat Chhon said.

China, one of Cambodia’s biggest supporters which had previously avoided the annual donor talks, pledged 91 million dollars, Keat Chhon said. Beijing routinely gives Cambodia hundreds of millions in aid outside the donor structure, and has been repeatedly praised by Prime Minister Hun Sen for not attaching any conditions to its money.

Already Cambodia’s largest donor, Japan said earlier it would likely offer the same, if not more money than last year’s 110 million dollars. While acknowledging Cambodia’s economic growth as a positive sign, Japan said in a statement earlier that “the slow progress in certain governance reform programmes seems to need particular attention.” Foreign donors announced their pledges after two days of aid talks that focussed largely on the government’s failure to pass anti-corruption legislation to tackle rampant graft.

Cambodia was ranked 151 out of 163 countries in Transparency International’s 2006 corruption index, which compares graft levels in governments around the world.

Keat Chhon told reporters after the meeting that the government would be more accountable to its people and its financial backers.

“We are committed to speeding up reforms … for Cambodia and her people. We have the political will to push reform forward,” he said, adding that Cambodia would continue to rely heavily on foreign aid.

Donor aid accounts for more than half of Cambodia’s national budget.

Diplomats lauded Cambodia’s increased willingness to work with donors, with German Ambassador Pius Fischer saying: “In many areas, there is a lot of progress to recognise … particularly in health, education, and infrastructure.

But the opening of the talks Tuesday was marred by the detention of foreign protesters which rights groups said highlighted the government’s continuing hardline stance towards dissent.

The eight Westerners, who were demanding the release of two men many rights advocates feel have been wrongly jailed for the 2004 killing of labor leader Chea Vichea, were freed hours later.

The incident underscored Cambodia’s failure to act on its reform promises made at previous donor meetings, rights groups said.

“The meeting has become an empty annual ritual, with the government making and breaking promises every year,” said Brad Adams, Asia director of the New York-based group Human Rights Watch.

“There will be more promises made this year but without serious donor pressure they, too, will be broken,” he added.

- AFP /ls

 

 

Donor countries pledge 689 mln USD in aid for Cambodia in 2007

Donor countries pledge 689 mln USD in aid for Cambodia in 2007    

Cambodia will receive over 689 million U.S. dollars in aid from donor countries and NGOs in 2007 to implement the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), said the donors’ meetings on Wednesday.

“The finance will be used for improving Cambodia’s MDG from good governance to sanitation and clean water sectors,” said the statement from the two-day First Cambodian Development Cooperation Forum (CDCF).

The figure is 15 percent higher than the 601 million U.S. dollars in 2006, it said, adding that it is expected to be 582 million U.S. dollars in 2008 and 475 million U.S. dollars in 2009.

For 2007, Japan alone provides over 112 million U.S. dollars, remaining the biggest donor country for Cambodia, while China trails Japan with over 91 million U.S. dollars, said the statement from the meeting concluded on Wednesday.

International donations used to account for half of the annual government budget of Cambodia, whose poverty rate decreased from 47 percent in 1993 to 35 percent in 2004.

According to the government’s report, between 1994 and 2006, the average annual economic growth rate of Cambodia was 9.8 percent. In 2005 and 2006, the rates respectively stood at 13.4 percent and 10.4 percent.

Source: Xinhua

 

Donors pledge $690M to Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (Reuters) — Cambodia’s international donors pledged $690 million in aid for 2007 on Wednesday, a 15 percent increase on the previous year that reflected recognition of government and economic reforms, a Cambodian official said.

“We received more than we expected. This is a reward for Cambodia’s good performance over the last year,” senior Finance Ministry official Hang Choun Naron said after a donor conference in Phnom Penh.

Twenty percent of the aid comes in the form of loans and the rest in grants, he added. Historically, Phnom Penh has relied on foreign aid for more than 60 percent of government spending.

The assistance should provide another boost to the war-scarred southeast Asian nation’s economy, which is enjoying near double-digit growth due to relative political stability and booms in the tourism, clothing and construction sectors.

“We are going to spend this money on education, health care, improving infrastructure, rural development and agriculture,” Hang Choun Naron said.

The economy grew 10.4 percent last year, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which expects growth of 9 percent in 2007 and 7.5-8 percent in 2008, making it one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, albeit worth only $7 billion.

In a big push to banish the legacy of Pol Pot’s “Year Zero” revolution and its estimated 1.7 million victims, Phnom Penh has obtained a B+ credit rating from Standard and Poor’s and a B2 from Moodys this year.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge soldier who has been in charge for more than 20 years, announced plans for a stock market in 2009, another sign of the accelerating recovery from the horrors of the “Killing Fields.”

But despite praising Hun Sen’s government, donors have also called for swift enactment of anti-corruption laws that have been gathering dust on the shelves of parliament for years.

Hun Sen’s critics accuse him of being an autocrat who has brought stability at the expense of human rights and openness.

Police detained eight Westerners outside the donor meeting on Tuesday for campaigning for the release of two men rights groups say were framed for the 2004 murder of a prominent union leader.

Phnom Penh police chief Touch Naruth said the group — three Americans, two Canadians, one New Zealander, one Briton and one Dane — had been arrested for “protesting illegally.” He did not give their names.

Source: http://www.cnn.com

 

Cambodia boosts aid request to 689 million dollars

PHNOM PENH (AFP) – Cambodia is expected to seek 689 million dollars Wednesday from donors amid demands by rights groups the international community get tough on the government’s apparent refusal to reform.

The amount of aid requested for the coming year is almost 100 million dollars more than that pledged at last year’s annual meeting, according to government documents.

Already, Cambodia’s largest donor Japan has said it will likely offer the same, if not more money than last year’s 110 million dollars.

While acknowledging Cambodia’s economic growth as a positive sign, Japan said in a statement that “the slow progress in certain governance reform programmes seems to need particular attention.”

Foreign donors are expected to announce their pledges later Wednesday after two days of aid talks that have reportedly focussed largely on the government’s failure to pass anti-corruption legislation to tackle rampant graft.

Cambodia was ranked 151 out of 163 countries in Transparency International’s 2006 corruption index, which compares graft levels in governments around the world.

Before the meeting, diplomats praised Cambodia’s increased willingness to work with donors.

But the opening of the talks Tuesday was marred by the detention of foreign protesters which rights groups said highlighted the government’s continuing hardline stance towards dissent.

The eight Westerners, who were demanding the release of two men many feel have been wrongly jailed for the 2004 killing of labour leader Chea Vichea, were freed hours later.

But the incident underscores Cambodia’s failure to act on its reform promises made at previous donor meetings, rights groups said.

“The meeting has become an empty annual ritual, with the government making and breaking promises every year,” said Brad Adams, Asia director of the New York-based group Human Rights Watch.

“There will be more promises made this year but without serious donor pressure they, too, will be broken,” he added.

China adds icing on the “aid” cake rewarded to Hun Sen

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

China adds icing on the “aid” cake rewarded to Hun Sen

Cambodia donors pledge $690 mln in 2007 aid

By Ek Madra

PHNOM PENH, June 20 (Reuters)

Cambodia’s international donors pledged $690 million in aid for 2007 on Wednesday, a 15 percent increase on the previous year that reflected recognition of government and economic reforms, a Cambodian official said.

“We received more than we expected. This is a reward for Cambodia’s good performance over the last year,” senior Finance Ministry official Hang Choun Naron said after a donor conference in Phnom Penh.

A breakdown revealed that much of the increase was accounted for by $91 million from China, which has shunned the collective donor process in previous years, preferring to offer bilateral assistance instead. Japan remained the biggest contributor, with $112 million. Twenty percent of the aid was in the form of loans and the rest in grants. Historically, Phnom Penh has relied on foreign aid for more than 60 percent of government spending.

The assistance should provide another boost to the war-scarred southeast Asian nation’s economy, which is enjoying near double-digit growth due to relative political stability and booms in the tourism, clothing and construction sectors.

 

“We are going to spend this money on education, health care, improving infrastructure, rural development and agriculture,” Hang Choun Naron said.The economy grew 10.4 percent last year, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which expects growth of 9 percent in 2007 and 7.5-8 percent in 2008, making it one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, albeit worth only $7 billion.

In a big push to banish the legacy of Pol Pot’s “Year Zero” revolution and its estimated 1.7 million victims, Phnom Penh has obtained a B+ credit rating from Standard and Poor’s and a B2 from Moodys this year.

 

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge soldier who has been in charge for more than 20 years, announced plans for a stock market in 2009, another sign of the accelerating recovery from the horrors of the “Killing Fields”.Despite this, donors also called for greater commitment to reform of a notoriously corrupt and political judiciary, and swift enactment of draft anti-graft laws that have been gathering dust on the shelves of parliament for years.

 

Hun Sen’s critics accuse him of being an autocrat who has brought stability at the expense of human rights and openness.

Eight Westerners were arrested outside the meeting on Tuesday for campaigning for the release of two men whom rights groups say were framed for the 2004 murder of a prominent union leader.

Phnom Penh police chief Touch Naruth said the group — three Americans, two Canadians, one New Zealander, one Briton and one Dane — had been arrested for “protesting illegally”.

They were released after signing an agreement not to do so again, police said.

Hun Sen’s gov’t got its wish from Donor Countries

Cambodian government officials and donors stand listening to the national anthem during the 1st Cambodia Development Coorperation Forum meeting in Phnom Penh. Cambodia is expected to seek 689 million dollars Wednesday from donors amid demands by rights groups the international community get tough on the government’s apparent refusal to reform. (Photo: AFP)

Cambodia boosts aid request to 689 million dollars Wednesday • June 20, 2007

AFP: Cambodia is expected to seek 689 million dollars Wednesday from donors amid demands by rights groups the international community get tough on the government’s apparent refusal to reform.

The amount of aid requested for the coming year is almost 100 million dollars more than that pledged at last year’s annual meeting, according to government documents.

 

Already, Cambodia’s largest donor Japan has said it will likely offer the same, if not more money than last year’s 110 million dollars. While acknowledging Cambodia’s economic growth as a positive sign, Japan said in a statement that “the slow progress in certain governance reform programmes seems to need particular attention.”

Foreign donors are expected to announce their pledges later Wednesday after two days of aid talks that have reportedly focussed largely on the government’s failure to pass anti-corruption legislation to tackle rampant graft.

 

Cambodia was ranked 151 out of 163 countries in Transparency International’s 2006 corruption index, which compares graft levels in governments around the world.

Before the meeting, diplomats praised Cambodia’s increased willingness to work with donors. But the opening of the talks Tuesday was marred by the detention of foreign protesters which rights groups said highlighted the government’s continuing hardline stance towards dissent.

The eight Westerners, who were demanding the release of two men many feel have been wrongly jailed for the 2004 killing of labour leader Chea Vichea, were freed hours later. But the incident underscores Cambodia’s failure to act on its reform promises made at previous donor meetings, rights groups said.

“The meeting has become an empty annual ritual, with the government making and breaking promises every year,” said Brad Adams, Asia director of the New York-based group Human Rights Watch.

“There will be more promises made this year but without serious donor pressure they, too, will be broken,” he added.