In the course of addressing to the closing review meeting of the first-term commune council’s works, Samdech Hun Sen was commenting on a number of issues that are being selected and translated as followed:
… On issue of budget, the commune council’s budget status is in a better position – judging by the fact that there was this current account budget from the Royal Government, those from foreign assistance sources, and financial sources for projects to be implemented at the communal level by various institutions. The budget of 2.6% of current account means there would be 2.6 for every 100 Riel that the Royal Government earned. It has generated concern not only for expenses at the senior level but also at the communal level. Sometimes the Royal Government also owed a certain sum of cash to the communal council due to cash flow difficulties. It is a new experience but we certainly made good progress. As in the first year of operation, we had decided to allocate 1% for the communes and co-ministers of interior HE Sar Kheng and then HE You Hockry at that time wrote a letter to me and to HE Keat Chhon to remind that there was a need for allocation of 1% of the national budget for the commune…
As of now HE Minister of Economy and Finance knows full well that he has to allocate fund for the communal councils and I would call this a progressive move to push financial share to the local level. I am glad that there have been plenty of reactions from our people through various means of information services – including that of feedbacks from people through the information box. We have discovered also some projects with irregularities and various others vis-à-vis financial issue. We have many projects that are completed without making use of the current account funding, current flow of revenue and external financial sources – take for instance bridges, roads, schools at the local level… As far as decision to be made on how to make use of the money and how to prioritize their projects, it rests indeed in the power of the commune councils with the participation of the people – as it is said in the awareness service that “people have become real owner of their lives…”
As for the forthcoming election on April 1, 2007, I wish to see that there will be an increase in women’s share of communal leadership to over 8% though it may still be small if compared to 51% rate of women in the country. Because we have just had a village election that brings in 13000 women into the village leadership, I hope the percentage of women’s representation at the communal level would also increase. As far as this matter is concerned, Australia has been sending three female Ambassadors lately to Cambodia. I hope that all parties to be contested will nominate more of their female candidates, and their names should be on top of the lists too…
As far as issue relating to decentralization is concerned I have just proposed to HM the King to issue of Royal Decree onsetting up of a decentralization commission for a smooth operation among various administrative organizations or else they would create a situation that might cause disarray in norms and letters. It is important to decide which one is to be applied here as it would otherwise create enormous difficulties and misunderstanding among those at the grass roots level. There need to have a clear coordination. I may say that we have just addressed an issue that makes us difficult long ago – one the one side is the ADB funded five-year socio-economic development plan and the other the national strategy for the poverty reduction funded by the World Bank. Though the two documents are aligned with one another, still it is worth making them a national strategic plan for development – where it took some time to make World Bank and ADB’s funded plans into one. Therefore it is important to have an approach to put together the administrative reform and the decentralization efforts in similar package or else one would go to the right while the other go to the left…
I just mentioned about the budget to be allocated for the communal councils, whereas it is to be increased from 1% to 2.6% in 2007 from senior level plus those sources of funding at the bottom, more consideration should be put into light here. Take for instance the daily collection of tax for stands in market, who is to control this income? The ferry boat services – will it be in whose management of revenue – district or commune levels? Tax from land – a major source of income at the communal level – should not be taken into consideration here. We could think of tax on land left unproductive in the urban area, where so and so percentage should be going into the communal coffers. Tax on farming lands should not be a matter of discussion here, as we do not deem it as a national tax policy yet. There need to be a serious consideration as to how much should be left at the grass roots level and how much should be within the upper level’s control of resources – the district, the provincial and the central levels…
I wish to make the point here that all of you at the communal level have very important role to play because you all receive mandates from the people. The first election was held on February 1, 2002 but for the following one – owing to needs for an update for population census, the national election committee (NEC) has re-scheduled the date to April 1. The people voted to set up their communal councils, who then become important voting body to elect members of the Senate on the people’s behalf. As the same voting constituency, you also voted to choose the village leadership and in the course of having parliament at the provincial, municipal and district levels – you all will have very important roles to play in voting to elect them too. Take for instance the provincial Governor would have a group of leadership, a council which is functioning as a provincial parliament that is going to be born out of indirect voting system or non-universal suffrage. To say in short you all will become four voting bodies – 1) to elect the Senate, 2) to elect the provincial/municipal parliaments, 3) to elect the district/Khan parliaments and 4) to select you own assistants – the village leadership…
From now on to the voting day I urge you to do good actions in the course of fulfilling your duties and you all should not suffer from the complex that you would not be a candidate in nomination anymore. You should try to avert conflict of land tenures as it closely relates to the local management. Whether one is going to be re-elected or not or is subjected to retirement, one has an obligation to keep good care of the property including the commune’s stamp. In the course of campaign period there needs to be a mechanism to go on with the day-to-day operation by the commune secretary with the responsibility of the functioning head of communes. There needs to be a smooth operation until the new elected leadership take over, with a guarantee that nothing could be afford to get lost throughout. From stage to stage there has to be a transfer… We have built in all about 600 commune offices and as of now ADB seems to be offering to build more throughout the country. I wish to see that the commune councils will not dishonor themselves because of small things – as I used to see in the past old ministers took whatever he had in his time and the new ones would request to build new sets of what he needs.
It is indeed going to be a transfer of power in a democratic way and not at gunpoint. Countries where transfer of power held at gunpoint prompted the old president to run away while the new president will have to first appoint oneself… I am ready to transfer my power when I lose the election and I would urge only to organize a Government right in time. Once NEC declares the winning party, I would quickly announce my acceptance of the winner and request for a quick setup of the Royal Government and declare to all institutions to get ready for a power transfer. Take for instance no one knows about the rectangular strategy until the official declaration of the Royal Government of the third legislative term on July 16, 2004.
The seventh priority is to be declared in the fourth term Royal Government in relation to using natural resources, mines because as of now we have discovered oil and gas. I also said to the Australian Ambassador who is also present here that the Australian company BSG will be allowed to do its business in Cambodia in terms of bauxite mining as we have discovered nearly one million hectares. We have also done with the construction of the cement factory – which in all is the use of natural resources. We have yet to include it in the country’s current six priorities to make our priority 7. Perhaps the Royal Government thereafter would go to more. Our country ceased to be divided and prone to arm conflict. Our lesson, and perhaps in other countries as well, armed conflict arises when no opposition parties, non-governmental organizations and freedom of press are allowed. Their last option to turn to is armed struggle. We have the duty to refrain our country from going back to such a backtracking situation. We are to be in verbal conflict but not armed ones. That I am to be blamed alone is better than to have more people dying because of war… and I could perhaps be well known because the press criticizes me. I said with many foreign friends that the most important thing remains in the fact that the leaders are brave to face the elections and to let it happen. Take for instance if I were to delay the election in 1998, I could have plenty of reasons to do so. Last year there was this idea that the next election is to take place in 2009 and I rebuke that by determining to get it done on the fourth Sunday of July in every five years./.
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