Aid Packet Comes With Some Expectations
Donor agencies and governments said Friday they had confidence in Cambodia’s commitment to pass an anti-corruption law and continue ref
Donor agencies and governments said Friday they hadconfidence in Cambodia’scommitment to pass an anti-corruption law and continue reforms in publicfinance and transparency, justifying a decision to hand the government a giantaid package. The nearly $1 billion in aid pledged Friday was to supportthe government’s development plan, help the country grow, and help reduce thenumber of poor, said Qimiao Fan, the World Bank’s Cambodia manager andfacilitator for the 17 donors. “In our support, we encouraged the government to improve thetransparency and the management of these resources for the benefit for the people,”he said. “The government needs to further integrate the planning with budgetingand aid management, so that these resources raised from external donors theyuse efficiently and effectively for the benefit of the Cambodian people,particularly the poor and vulnerable.” “Priority areas” discussed in the two days of meetingsincluded education, health, agriculture, infrastructure and social protection,he said. The British government, which increased it aid from about$20.5 million last year to $26.4 million this year, would support “a number ofareas of development, particularly supporting good governance, the healthsector, and rural development,” the country’s ambassador, Andrew Mace, saidThursday. “The prime minister set out some very clear challenges facing thecountry,” he said. “He set out a very clear agenda for action by his own government, and awillingness to work in close partnership with the donors, and we welcome thatvery much.” “We recognize very well the need of the Cambodian people forassistance...in addressing issues such as health, education, road developments, [and]many challenges facing them,” he said. “We’re working closely with thegovernment to know those areas. We welcome their commitments in those areas. Iwelcome their commitments for good governance and combating corruption [and] welook forward to those commitments to been turned into practice.”