Cambodia wins int'l community's confidence
By Achmad Mochtan
TOKYO (JP): Pledges made at the first World Bank-led Consultative Group on Cambodia (CGC) last year indicate the international community's confidence about the progress Cambodia is making. Totaling slightly more than US$ 500 million, the financial assistance fully meets Cambodia's requirements for 1996-1997. As some donors are yet to finalize the total amount of their aid, Cambodians can even expect more money.
Solid economic performance is one reason for this confidence. Following the last International Committee on Rehabilitation and Construction of Cambodia meeting in 1995, growth exceeded 7 percent and inflation was reduced to 3.5 percent.
Cambodia also embarked on fundamentally important reforms, such as strengthening fiscal management, enacting a Central Bank Law, and formulating mechanisms for privatizing state enterprises. All these are encapsulated in Cambodia's Socio- Economic Development Plan (SEPD), a five-year development plan covering 1996-2000.
Prepared in close collaboration with multilateral institutions known for their expertise in finance and development, such as the World Bank, IMF, ADB and UNDP, the plan for Cambodia's economic development easily gained approval, thus facilitating the country's transition from a recipient of emergency relief to a manager of reconstruction and development programs.
Political commitment is another key to Cambodia's success. Despite reportedly frequent rifts, the coalition government has been surprisingly resilient. "We will do our utmost to find amicable solutions to political differences", said First Prime Minister Norodom Ranariddh.
Altogether, as the World Bank's report puts it, "Cambodia has made impressive strides in re-establishing political and economic stability and re-integrating itself into the international economy".
Not everything about Cambodia's progress is rosy, however. A number of serious problems persist, clouding Cambodia's prospects. Of these, law and order are the most frequently cited.
The donors were not trying to mix politics in Cambodia's agenda of development. A government meeting set up specifically to discuss Cambodia's socio-political development proved effective in preempting the intrusion of political elements into the economic forum. However, the persistent and unabated security and political problems in Cambodia force donors to nag the government into taking firm actions to improve the poor law and order situation.
"These incidents are at worst a symptom of a rapidly changing society", Finance and Economy Senior Minister Keat Chon said. "The Royal Government is doing its best to prevent and punish the individuals or groups responsible for the incidents", he stressed. This may well be the case. But with no concrete measures to address the root-cause of the problem, namely a super-abundance of arms, Keat Chon's statements appeared hollow.
Other recurrent criticism included the preservation of the environment, forest in particular. Logging and export of timber received especially harsh scrutiny. This may sound tough as Cambodia's excellent timber is in great demand.
The plain fact is that all this is important for Cambodia's own sustainable future. Cambodia is fortunate that a concerned international community -- including critical NGOs -- sounded the warning bells early. In this context, the government's commitment to follow guidelines for forest management policy jointly submitted by the World Bank, FAO and UNDP was commended by all participants.
The government also scored well in its attempt to promote the democratization process in Cambodia. The co-Prime Minister emphasized his readiness to organize free and fair elections in 1997 and 1998, at provincial and national level respectively.
Although financial glitches may occur, there was a firm determination that these "by-and-for Cambodians" democratic exercises would proceed unhindered.
In support of this noble cause, the international community unanimously expressed its willingness to provide financial, technical and other assistance.
Overall, the first CGC was a success. Cambodians can rest assured their transition toward an economic recovery is on the right track. Fundamental problems, however, abound. Overcoming them will truly be an immense challenge.
The regional countries can and should offer assistance. ASEAN was represented at the meeting but its role was modest. With better coordination, ASEAN can provide more meaningful contributions to the government mechanism. Rural development and improvement of rice production, for example, are among ASEAN's strong points, repeatedly alluded to by a number of participants. Toward that end, ASEAN need to push its bilateral and intra-ASEAN cooperation vis-a-vis Cambodia.
Tripartite cooperation involving ASEAN, Cambodia and a third party would be another promising mechanism to facilitate the transfer of experience to Cambodia. A Japanese-ASEAN-Cambodian pilot project on integrated rural development is working out well. Other third parties have expressed interest in similar arrangements in different areas of development.
The above schemes not only contribute to accelerating Cambodia's economic recovery, but more importantly, reaffirm ASEAN's unfailing commitment to Cambodia, as part of ASEAN's own family.
The writer, an analyst with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, is currently in Tokyo attached to the Institute for Advanced Studies, United Nations University.