Volume 2, Number 5 May 2004 Putting government in the hands of the people Governace is one of the pillars of the interview Louise Scura, task team leader tralization and local governance. Could you new Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) of Rural Investment and Local Gover- explain the relation between these please? for Cambodia. For this issue the World nance project. A - Decentralization in Cambodia re- Bank newsletter had the opportunity to Q - You have been working on decen- fers to the delegation of political author- ity from the national government to the newly elected local governments at the commune level. In 2002, for the first time in recent history, local governments were elected in the country's 1,621 communes/ sangkat with mandates of five years. The objective of the decentralization is to make government more responsive to and ac- countable for meeting the needs of people at the local level. So, in a sense, decen- tralization is the means to achieve the ob- jective of improved local governance, but decentralization doesn't necessarily guar- antee improved local governance. Q - Why is it important to ensure that decentralization builds strong local gov- ernance in Cambodia? Why is it needed? A ­ It is important for development that the public sector in general, and local governments in particular, both have the capacity to respond to local needs, and "Because most Cambodians live in rural areas they know the issues already" continued on page 2 World Bank staff trained for HIV/AIDS awareness World Bank staff and their dependents velopment and socio-economic issue at members and their dependents could be were given a half-day's training in aware- national, regional and global levels, and infected with HIV worldwide. Relatively nessofHIV/AIDSintheworkplaceinearly the World Bank has played a leadership few of these staff and their dependents May.ThetrainingwasprovidedbyKHANA role in the war against the disease. are using Bank resources or the available ­ the Khmer HIV/AIDS NGO alliance. For the World Bank Group, HIV/AIDS benefits to fight their disease. Both pre- The training included several topics: is both a development issue and a work- vention and treatment are therefore press- HIV/AIDS general situation, HIV/AIDS place issue. The president of the World continued on page 3 transmission, risk factors and impact, con- Bank group, James D Wolfensohn, has dom use, voluntary confidential counsel- pledgedthattheBankasacaringemployer ing and testing (VCCT) and treatment. would work towards a profound objective: Beng Simeth,World Bank Country Of- no more Bank Group staff or their family fice task team leader for HIV/AIDS in the members should die from AIDS. workplace and Human Development Of- The World Bank already has clear ficer, said the training was decided on af- nondiscrimination, confidentiality and ter a survey of Bank staff showed differ- comprehensive medical care policies (in- ent levels of knowledge about HIV/AIDS. cluding antiretroviral drugs and non-emer- "This training is very important to the gency evacuation if needed). staff and their dependents to be aware HIV/AIDS is already a problem for about HIV/AIDS transmission and help World Bank staff. Health Services Depart- them to prevent infection," he said. ment (HSD) has estimated that, based on World Bank staff watching HIV/AIDS The HIV pandemic has become a de- national prevalence, as many as 400 staff trainer demonstrates during training 2 The World Bank Newsletter May 2004 Putting government in the hand of the people continued from page 1 US$22 million RILGP Credit helps meet the are in practice more responsive to the pref- Royal Government's annual commitments erences of local communities. In the after- for 2003 through 2006 to the Commune/ math of the recent civil conflict in Cambo- Sangkat Fund, the intergovernmental fis- dia, governance systems had collapsed, caltransferoffundsfromthenationalgov- and the ability of the national govern- ernment to the local governments. The ment to respond to the needs of the Commune/Sangkat Fund covers the cost people, outside the capital has been very of Commune Councilors salaries and ad- limited.ItisimportantinCambodia,aselse- ministrative costs, as well as funds priority where, to develop the capacity, ability and development projects at the commune incentives at local level to respond to lo- level. In 2004, the allocation to the Com- cal needs. Essentially, working on improv- mune/Sangkat Fund amounts to about CR ing local governance means making the 50 billion (about $12.5 million) or on aver- local government more responsive, more age about $6,000 to $8,000 per commune/ transparent, and more available to the lo- sangkat, depending on population and cal community, making sure the public poverty level. To decide on how these Louise Scura: Decentralization is the funds are available and put to best use, fundswillbeused,eachyearthecommune/ means to achieve the objective of and ensuring accountability within the sangkat council, with the assistance of its improved local governance. local government structure for the use of planning and budgeting committee with funds. This is particularly important in representation from the villages, goes hanced due to more reliable sources of Cambodia, because Cambodia has limited through the participatory local planning irrigation and better access to markets. It resources and needs to put those re- process to identy the priorities for devel- is also hoped that the RILGP will contrib- sources to the best, most effective and opment at the commune level. During the ute to improved local governance, but most appropriate use. first two years of operation of the Com- supporting the integration and implemen- Q - I understand that you are working mune/SangkatFund,communeshaveiden- tation of key features of decentralized sys- on the Rural Investment and Local Gover- tified as their priorities basic rural infrastruc- tems into the new local government insti- nance project (RILGP). Could you explain ture such as roads, culverts, wells, water tutional structures and development plan- how the project works and how it can help supply, sanitation, small-scale irrigation, ning, budgeting, accounting and auditing Cambodia? schools and clinics. The communes/ systems at the local level. A­TheRILGPispartofamuchbroader sangkats use a competitive bidding pro- Q ­ Could you please explain the rela- program of support to decentralization and cess to award contracts to local contrac- tionship among the recent decentraliza- improved local governance, totaling tors to build this small-scale infrastructure. tion reforms, the Cambodia National Seila US$69.16 million. Of this, $22 million is It is hoped that the RILGP will con- Program, and the RILGP? provided by the International Development tribute to rural development and poverty A - The decentralization reforms came Association (IDA), one of the World Bank reduction by enhancing the living condi- into effect officially with the February 2002 Group agencies, and the rest is co-financ- tions in rural communities through im- Commune/Sangkat Council elections. ing from UNDP, DFID and SIDA, through proved accessibility to public infrastruc- Prior to the implementation of these re- the Partnership for Local Governance, as ture, water and sanitation, and health and forms, key features of the decentralized wellasfromdomesticrevenuesoftheKing- education services. Also, it is expected systems were piloted through the Seila domofCambodia.US$19millionoutofthe that livelihood opportunities will be en- Program, including the institutional struc- tures and development planning, budget- ing and implementation processes. Many of the key features of the Seila pilot pro- gram are now directly reflected in the laws and regulations governing decentraliza- tion reforms. So the earlier experience and lessons learned from the Seila Program have directly influenced the actual con- tent of the decentralization reforms. The Seila Program still has a very strong role in continuing work on improving the regu- latory framework, in channeling donor re- sources, and playing a key role in coordi- nating the activities of all ministries in- volved in the implementation of the de- centralization reforms. The Seila Task Force Secretariat serves as the implement- ing agency for the World Bank support for decentralization through RILGP. Seila Commune council members checking quality of a country road in Banteay continued on next page meanchay province, built in early 2004 May 2004 The World Bank Newsletter 3 doesn't implement the sub-projects that it is a typical project. However, in several Cambodianstounderstandtheimportance the RILGP finances at the commune level, other respects RILGP is atypical of IDA- of bringing the government closer to them rather the RILGP support goes directly to funded projects, and we consider the and requiring it to be more responsive to the Commune/Sangkat Fund sub-projects. RILGP, and the implementation of the de- meeting their needs. What they probably But Seila coordinates these activities, pro- centralization reforms it supports, an im- don't understand well enough is how es- vides related technical assistance, and fa- portant experiment for both IDA and Gov- sential their role is in demanding better cilitates payment from the World Bank ernment. First, it is heavily focused on service delivery, by participating in the through the Ministry of Economy and Fi- partnership and pushes boundary toward process and ensuring their voices are nance and the Treasury. a sector-wide approach by helping to heard, as well as in holding their local gov- Q - How is this project different from a scale-up an existing multi-donor financed ernment more accountable. They should typical World Bank financed projects? government-led program. Second, it also know that the World Bank is very A ­ The RILGP is what the World Bank pushes the boundary towards budget committed to supporting the implementa- refers to as a Specific Investment Loan, support by harmonizing IDA safeguard tion of decentralization to help ensure that because the funds go to specific invest- and fiduciary measures into standardized the promises of decentralization ­better ments rather than to more general support procedures which apply to entire Com- local governance and enhanced service of the government budget. In that aspect mune/Sangkat Fund, not just IDA-fi- delivery ­are actually realized. nanced portion. Third, it avoids project- Q ­ How do the Government, Private specific structures, with implementation Sector and Civil Society engage in these arrangements within existing government issues? structures and institutions, requiring co- A ­ Through the decentralization re- operation across multiple ministries (e.g., forms, the national government has del- Interior, Economy and Finance, Rural De- egated political authority and responsi- velopment), and well as coordination of bility for delivery of some public goods activities across the three tiers of gov- and services to the Commune/Sangkat ernment ­national, province, and com- Councils. Civil society participates most mune. directly through the commune-level elec- Q - What are the main messages you tions every five years, and in the interim would like to share in terms of helping though village representatives on the the Cambodian people to understand the is- planning and budgeting committee, as sues involved? well as direct engagement in public meet- A - Because most Cambodians live in ings during as part of the planning pro- rural areas they know many of the issues cess. The private sector is engaged most Commune council member explains very well already, because they are played directly through a transparent and com- their local development plan map out in their daily lives. It is very easy for petitive bidding process for contracts. World Bank staff Train for HIV/AIDS... continued from page 1 cause Cambodia has a high rate of HIV/ pants should all take this awareness to ing agendas for the Bank. AIDS infection. practice in our daily lives." Sreypov Tep, one of World Bank staff "Everyone should be clear that if staff For more information contact: who attended the training, said the World get HIV/AIDS the Bank will not fire them," Beng Simeth Bank is a very good institution for provid- she strongly states. "We are an institution Human Development Officer ing this kind of training to staff and their that cares for staff who have this disease." Email: sbeng@worldbank.org dependents. Shesaiditisveryimportantthat Sreypov summed it up: "We partici- everyone should be aware about HIV/AIDS. "After the training, I have a clear un- derstanding about HIV/AIDS and its trans- mission, how to prevent HIV/AIDS, how to use condoms, and what the advantages of using condom are, " she said. "The most important thing is to under- stand the advantages and disadvantages of doing a blood test through VCCT, and the disadvantages of people hiding them- selves when they discover they are in- fected with HIV/AIDS. "I also see that the World Bank has a good policy to take care of staff who are infected with HIV/AIDS." She said. Nisha Agrawal, Country Manager of Cambodia's World Bank country office, told staff the training was extremely im- portant for them and for their spouses be- Mr. Mak Thol, one of World Bank staff trainees, learn how to use condom proper May 2004 The World Bank Newsletter 4 Ms Ros Sopheap, Executive Director of gender and Development for Cambodia, one of the grantees, explans the use of fund Small Grant Program provide $40,000 to Six NGOs This is the third year of the Small With $7,500, YFP will organize peace land issues in seven target districts of Grants Program (SmGP) in Cambodia. The events, a workshop on Youth and leader- Kampong Cham province. SmGP awarded $40,000 to six local organi- ship, facilitate students initiatives support, With $5,000 provided by the SGP, BFD zations last month to support their work organize a community gathering day which will establish a mechanism for engaging with vulnerable groups. will help in Phnom Penh, and a national in promotion of peace and development The SmGP was created in 1983 to pro- youth gathering day in Kampong through workshops to increase awareness vide a way for the World Bank to promote Chhnang province. and capacity of commune councils on de- dialogue and dissemination about devel- OEBisalsoasecond-yeargrantee,but centralization, human rights, and conflict opment in forums outside its own opera- this year receives $8,500 to continue their resolution. tions. The SmGP in Cambodia was started program on children's integrated devel- Nil Vanna, SmGP coordinator, said this in 2002. Again this year the program pro- opment in the post conflict areas ­ Koh year the World Bank grant is being pro- vide support to six local NGOs: Gender Krolor district of Battambang, and vided to local NGOs who will be imple- and Development for Cambodia (GAD/C), Banteay Meanchay province ­ such as menting their process in a broad range of Youth For Peace (YFP) Operation Enfants workshops on children rights, hygiene, communes in Phnom Penh, Kampong De Battambang (OEB), Dai Kou Kaksekar literacy and nutrition. Cham, Kampong Speu, Kampong Thom, (DKK), Kampong Cham NGO Advocacy SmGP is providing $5,500 to DKK, a Prey Veng, Siem Reap, Kampong Chhnang, Network (K-NAN), Buddhism for Devel- local NGO based in Kampong Thom prov- Banteay Meanchay, Battambang, Pursat opment (BFD). ince. With this grant the organization can and Takeo. GAD/C, a second time grantee, will hold workshops in villages on decentrali- "This program contributes in promot- use its $8,000 grant to provide training on zation management, gender awareness, ing dialogues and building the capacity women's empowerment through legal and support key villagers to participate in of commune council members, giving awareness to the village core team, then commune council development meetings. voice to the poor to express their ideas expand awareness outreach to their net- Besides the workshops, the program will and concerns related to local development work in seven communes, publish devel- also hold a gathering day in villages, in- issues," she said." This program is also opment posters and materials related to viting villagers, commune councils, and helping to improve transparency, account- legal matters in the commune council of- Village Development Committees to share ability and local ownership." fices and also help with library set up and lessons learnt and reflections from the provide some documents. These activi- workshops. For more information contact: ties will implemented in Kampong Speu, K-NAN has received $5,500 from the Ms. Nil Vanna, SmGP coordinator Kampong Chhnang and Pursat provinces. SmGP to hold public forum sessions on Email: mhyun@worldbank.org We Welcome Your Opinions and Comments We welcome your opinions, comments and questions. Please send them to: Bou Saroeun, Communications Specialist,at 113 Norodom Blvd., Phnom Penh, email: sbou@worldbank.org. We very much appreciate your valuable assistance.