41961 Volume 5, Number 11 November 2007 World Bank Reviews Progress in Country Assistance Strategy World Bank Country Manager Nisha Agrawal, left, Country Director Ian Porter, and EAP regional Director for Strategy and Operations Sarah Cliffe at the CAS consultative meeting in October 2007. T wo years into the implementation of sector and civil society representatives ers feel that the CAS remains relevant and its Country Assistance Strategy to seek their feedback on CAS implemen- isontrackinitsimplementationorwhether (CAS) for Cambodia for 2005-2008, tation so far and proposals for the fu- it needs some adjustments based on all that in early October 2007 the World Bank held ture. has happened in Cambodia during the last a series of consultative meetings with the The purpose of the consultations was two years and the new knowledge that has Government, development partners, private to get feedback on whether the stakehold- See WORLD BANK page 2 World Bank Looks at Impact of Small Grants Program T hirty-four people, one from each of 34 local NGOs that received Small Grants from the World Bank Cam- bodia Small Grants Program (SmGP), at- tended a one-day workshop on October 8, 2007 to share their best practices, opportu- nities and challenges during the implemen- tation of their projects, and to hear about WB's project on strengthening civic en- gagement. World Bank Small Grants Coordinator and Social Development Specialist Nil Vanna said the workshop was organized to outline the important role of civic engage- ment in the process of poverty reduction and development in Cambodia and to share See WORLD BANK page 3 Participants at the Small Grants Program workshop in Phnom Penh in October. 2 The World Bank Newsletter November 2007 World Bank Reviews Progress ... continued from page 1 beenaccumulatedonCambodiaduringthis period. Based on these consultations, within the Bank and with external stake- holders, the Bank will prepare a CAS Progress Report to present to its Board of Directors in early 2008 laying out the pro- posed strategy and program for the future. The CAS is intended to help imple- ment the Government's Rectangular Strat- egy and the National Strategic Develop- ment Plan (NSDP) for 2006-2010. These documents provide a sound diagnosis of Cambodia's development challenges ­ particularly the central importance of good governance ­ and a comprehensive H.E. Kheat Chhon, Senior Minister of Economy and Finance, center, at the CAS list of actions to tackle these challenges. consultative meeting. On his right is H.E.Aun Porn Moniroth, Secretary of State of The World Bank, in its presentation, MEF, and on his left H.E. Vongsey Vissoth, Deputy Secretary General of the MEF. said that Cambodia has made progress eredandexploited;andChinahasemerged tor development, public financial manage- on many fronts. It has enjoyed double- as a major "non-traditional" donor. ment, natural resource management, de- digit growth during the last three years These gains, however, remain fragile. centralization and deconcentration, formu- with continued high growth projected; The high growth is narrowly based and lation and implementation of the National poverty has come down from 47 to 35 per undiversified, concentrated on the gar- Strategic Development Plan (NSDP), and cent during the last decade, and the re- ment industry, tourism and construction; attaining the Cambodian Millennium De- cent Equity Report shows that while in- though revenues have increased, the rev- velopment Goals (CMDGs). equality remains high, the gap between enue-to-GDP ratio remains inadequate The consultations provided very use- the rich and poor has stabilized in recent andwellbelowtheaverageforlow-income fulfeedbackonthewayforward. Allstake- years and the fruits of growth are being countries; though there have been rapid holders urged the Bank to stay focused shared more widely than in the first half gains in primary school enrollment, only and selective and to deepen rather than of the last decade. half the children who enter primary broaden its engagement and program in New data on education and health school complete it, and dropout and rep- Cambodia. Development partners felt that show that most indicators are improving etition rates are very high; and large vol- the current strategy was still relevant and (except the maternal mortality rate). umes of overseas aid are highly frag- appropriate and there was strong support The garment sector has survived and mented and concentrated on specific for extending the current strategy till 2011 is growing despite the lifting of quotas; projects rather than in support of Gov- and then doing a new CAS--jointly with tourism continues to boom; there has been ernment programs. Governance remains several other development partners--to a significant increase in Foreign Direct In- weak, as confirmed by global indicators align to the next NSDP for 2011-2015. vestment, though largely in the natural re- such as Doing Business, Transparency The private sector urged the Bank to sources sector; possibly significant vol- International,andGovernanceMattersVI. continue to focus on private sector devel- umesofoff-shoreoilandgasreserveshave There have been accomplishments opment as one of its core pillars of the CAS been discovered; there is the possibility under all six objectives of the CAS, and to continue to work on reducing the ofsignificantmineralwealthbeingdiscov- though of varying degrees: private sec- costs of doing business in Cambodia, es- pecially the costs imposed by trade facili- tation agencies. Civil society members urged the Bank to pay more attention to building the ca- pacity of civil society for research and policy dialogue, and to continue to create space for civil society members in policy dialogue through the technical working groups. They welcomed the Bank's in- creased engagement with civil society and its new Program to Enhance the Capacity in SocialAccountability (PECSA) and also its new Demand for Good Governance (DFGG)Project. The Government asked the Bank to continue to focus and be selective in its Dr. Suomi Sakai UNICEF Representative, second from right, gives her views on program and also to incorporate the find- CAS consultative meeting. see WORLD BANK page 3 November 2007 The World Bank Newsletter 3 World Bank Reviews Progress ... continued from page 2 ings from recent analytical work such as the Poverty Assessment and the Equity Report when designing its future program. Further consultations will be held with the Government on the strategy and program for the coming years before the CAS Progress Report is finalized in the coming months. World Bank Country Manager Nisha Agrawal reaffirmed to the participants at the consultation meetings that the World Bank's vision remains the same: a Cambodia Free of Poverty by helping Cambodia to achieve its Cambodia Mil- lennium Development Goals (CMDGs): to reduce poverty and hunger, achieve universal primary education, reach gen- der equality and empower women, re- Sok Hach, Director of the Economic Institute of Cambodia, gives his views on CAS. duce child mortality, improve maternal health, combat HIV/AIDs, malaria and other diseases, ensure environmental sustainability, and de-mining, UXO and victim assistance. "For us, the focus on good gover- nance in our CAS is a means to an end ­ and the end remains poverty reduction. There is plenty of evidence from around the world that good governance will lead to a more sustainable and inclusive pat- tern of development and will lead to a better standard of living for all Cambodi- ans, especially the poor," she said. For more information contact: International Finance Corporation Country Manager Sin Foong Wong, left, WB Mr. Bou Saroeun Country Director Ian Porter, and ACLEDAGeneral Director In Channy, among Communications Specialist private sector representatives at the CAS consultative meeting. Email: sbou@worldbank.org World Bank Looks at Impact of Small Grants ... continued from page 1 tegrated in commune development plans, torofRuralCommunityandEnvironment their practices and challenges. such as small-scale irrigation schemes, citi- Development Organization (RCEDO), "It is a good chance for them to share zen rating reports for local good gover- said the small grant program under his their experience and to learn from each nance, bringing local government and management is used to bring service pro- other," she said. "It also provides them a community together to discuss local de- viders and service demanders/users to place where they can build a strong net- velopment, and encouraging commune meet face to face to discuss how to im- work." council members elected from all political prove services. The SmGP in Cambodia has been run- parties to work together. "We see that public services have im- ning since 2003, and so far 34 local NGOs "They usually look at each another as proved and more and more people come have received grants to implement project an enemy," said Bun Rithy, Director of the to use them," he said. "We also see that activities, under the themes: Civic Engage- Democracy Resource Center for National people change their behavior and become ment,Youth Engagement for Local Devel- Development (DND). "Now both commu- much more involved in community de- opment, Youth Engagement for Better nity and local government are changing to velopment, for example, organizing their Governance, and Strengthening Civic En- positive attitudes, moving from being en- own campaigns on dengue fever during gagement by Supporting Demand for emies to being friends and colleagues. its outbreak." Good Governance. Because of this change, we see a lot of In areas implementing Small Grants Best practice has been seen on the results on the ground, for example, recently Programs there had been great changes ground such as closely cooperating with the government gave 4,800 hectares of land in the behavior of young people, with localgovernment(communecouncilmem- back to people." reduction in gangsterism and drug use. bers). Some small grant programs were in- Sam Serey Wathana, Executive Direc- see WORLD BANK page 4 November 2007 The World Bank Newsletter 4 World Bank Looks at Impact of Small Grants Program EvaMysliceice,DirectorofYouthStar, ting income, and are favorably inclined said youth volunteers live like people in towards people who provide them with the community: they don't come with gifts. All levels of authority are used to money; they stay with villagers and work maintain a centralized system of patron- with them to find ways to improve living age, inhibiting decentralization and limit- conditions and to help their children and ing accountability towards the people that set an example. "The more we can all set officials are mandated to serve. examples, the more power that would be". People tend to take a short-sighted Workshop participants strongly approach towards development, seeking voiced a long list of the challenges they immediate results rather than working to- faced in the implementation of their wards long-term goals. projects. Participants said commune councils They said poverty led most rural chil- and communities have no rights to influ- dren to drop out of school and enter the ence control of natural resources. Red tape workforce without proper life skills, yet at all levels of government continues to there was no proactive response from the be a barrier for civil society to implement education sector or from donors to pro- development. World Bank Social Development mote non-formal education or short-term People are isolated from information, Specialist and Small Grants Coordinator life-skills training. lack communication skills and have lim- Nil Vanna at the workshop. There was low interest and limited ited motivation to champion reform. There understanding of laws in the commu- is a need for improvement in knowledge Continued from page 3 nity, and people lacked courage to give on decentralization and civic rights and Young people were also standing for com- voice to their common interest; selfish- accountability of government service pro- mune elections and showing increasing ness and self-interest were also wide- viders. interest in involvement in politics They spread. Partisan political influence and Participants were also critical of some are being encouraged to be community pressures were barriers for citizen par- NGOs. They said information about weak- reporters and community information dis- ticipation. There is strong fear, and the nesses and best practice is not adequately tributors. feeling that people who stand up shared: NGOs lack lateral contact, each Some youth volunteer activities are against perceived injustices are being working alone and responsible only to its also supported through small grant pro- seen as opposition party activists. donor. grams that provide students the opportu- Watchdog and advocacy activities are For more information contact: nitytosharetheknowledgetheylearnfrom not seen by villagers as being in their Ms. Nil Vanna university with communities and to gain real interest, and it was difficult to en- Social Development Specialist experience from the community and de- list people for voluntary work. Email: vnil @worldbank.org velop themselves as good citizens. Villagers are mainly concerned at get- DND Director Bun Rithy vigorously makes a point at the small group discussion at the Small Grants Program workshop. TheWorldBankOffice Cambodia 113, Norodom Blvd. Phnom Penh,Tel: (855 23) 217 301 Fax (855 23) 210 504 Khmer website: www.worldbank.org.kh and English website: www.worldbank.org/kh