CONSULTATIVE GROUP PROCESS
Post CG meeting
16 January 2002
SPEAKING NOTES
By
H.E. SOK AN
Senior Minister in charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers
Permanent Member of the Supreme Council of State Reform,
Chairman of the Council for Administrative Reform
Your Excellency, Samdech Hun Sen, Prime Minister
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to join Samdech Prime Minister in welcoming you to this important Post CG meeting of the Consultative Group process. Since we last met, much progress has been made in realizing what we said we wanted to do to reform the State. I am proud to say that we have done what we said we would do. Samdech the Prime Minister just outlined for you the major achievements of the Royal Government in the many areas of reform undertaken by the Royal Government. For my part, I would like to outline briefly specific, practical achievements in the areas of administrative reform, legal reform and anti-corruption.
But first, please allow me to recapitulate on developments concerning the Governance Action Plan since we last met in Tokyo this past June.
You are all fully familiar with the GAP. On December 11, at the Dissemination Conference involving some 700 high government officials, the Council for Administrative Reform circulated a progress report on the GAP implementation. This report is now being circulated formally to you all. Practically all of year one initiatives have been completed in each of the GAP areas of focus. Progress is such that the Royal Government is undertaking to update the GAP to introduce new initiatives to follow up on progress made and to go further in our quest for good governance.
To this effect, the CAR is envisaging launching a consultative process involving all stakeholders. We are planning to hold a workshop to kick-start the consultations in the weeks following the upcoming communal elections. The objective would be to complete a draft GAP II in time for the next Consultative Group meeting this coming June. This new GAP will be formally adopted by the Government after a last round of consultations in the weeks following the CG meeting.
During the Dissemination Conference, the Prime Minister and Ministers responsible for specific GAP areas identified possible new priority initiatives for introduction into the revised GAP. Proceedings of the conference will be circulated to you and other stakeholders well ahead of the workshop. For our purpose today, suffice to say that new priority initiatives will evolve around needs and issues in social development, investment and commerce, democratization, administrative reform and anti-corruption.
The Dissemination Conference will be followed by workshops in the provinces to further disseminate the GAP and the Survey on Corruption among government officials. I must say that -In Tokyo, I had indicated that we were planning to hold 12 dissemination workshops. However, because of budget constraints, 4 workshops will be held in addition to the National Conference.
Before I turn to my main topic for today, progress and the next steps in Administrative Reform, please allow me to briefly outline the situation with regard to the Legal Reform and the fight against corruption.
The legal reform is a critical element of the Royal Government change agenda in its pursuit of sustainable development and social justice. The Government has been unrelenting in its attempts at completing the legal framework. Major new laws and regulations have been promulgated and are now being implemented. I will spare you the list but they cover a wide spectrum from the management of natural resources such as land, fisheries and forestry and wild life, to providing the private sector and the market economy with an appropriate framework and all the way to family violence and human trafficking. Also, we are strengthening the Council of Jurists and developing ways and means to disseminate laws and regulations better including the revamping of the Official Gazette.
Yet, the Government must accelerate the pace of legal reform. In full consultation with all ministries and others, we are now in the process of developing a Master List of laws and regulations that should be enacted to complete the legal framework. When completed, we will then turn our attention to fleshing out the draft strategy we circulated at our meeting in Tokyo and to developing a time bound action plan. This work will be completed in time for the next CG meeting with the support of the World Bank.
The Office of the Council of Ministers and ministries have undertaken a review of procedures and practices in the development of laws within the Executive Branch before they are submitted to the National Assembly and the Senate. In this context we look forward to closely cooperating with the Legislative to streamline the process while ensuring broad participation by all concerned.
I must add, however, that the best laws would be meaningless or could even be counterproductive if an effective judiciary does not enforce them in a predictable and just way. We are cooperating closely with the Council for Judicial Reform and other stakeholders to investigate ways and means to address well-known issues in this regard. The Royal Government will do everything it can to facilitate the Judicial Reform and better coordinate efforts.
The ultimate objective of the legal and judicial reforms is to enhance private sector development and the protection of personal and property rights. With the assistance of the World Bank we will develop a comprehensive, well coordinated and participatory approach to legal and judicial reform, based on full stakeholder participation, close partnership with donors, and strict adherence to a strategic framework common to all development partners.
The Royal Government is very conscious that corruption poses a threat not only to democratic institutions and fundamental rights and freedoms, but also that it undermines socioeconomic development and deepens the plight of the poor. It causes irrational decision-making, disrupts the development of the private sector and undermines the environment for national economic growth.
Our approach is a holistic one that seeks foremost to root out the causes of corruption and not simply attempt to contain the symptoms or punish perpetrators. Dissuasive measures are important but far from sufficient. The Government's approach builds on extensive reviews and studies conducted in Cambodia with the assistance of our external partners. In particular, two such studies have provided many useful insights, suggestions and recommendations. The Diagnostic Survey on Corruption in Cambodia, commissioned by the government and carried out with the support of the World Bank, provided important insights into the nature and causes of corruption in Cambodia. The study on Governance and Sustainable Development, funded by the ADB, provided means to prioritize initiatives for optimum benefits.
At the National Dissemination Conference the Prime Minister, Samdech Hun Sen singled out corruption as a scourge that must be urgently confronted. Simply raising salaries or increasing risks associated with corrupt practices will not suffice. The fight against corruption must be articulated along the following six principles:
1. Establishing a legal framework and procedures that respect the principles of good governance particularly as they relate to the delivery of public services;
2. The promotion of awareness and understanding of the legal framework and procedures by the general public and users of public services;
3. The training civil servants to understand their rights and obligations and to acquire the skills necessary to implement them effectively and fairly;
4. The provision of requisite logistical support in terms of equipment and operating budget;
5. Effective oversight mechanisms and measures to monitor and control corrupt practices;
6. Fair and predictable mechanisms to sanction or prosecute wrongdoers.
The current GAP itself is a first systematic compendium of initiatives to address issues of corruption. In one-way or another most of the GAP initiatives deal with root causes of corruption. Others seek to implement mechanisms to monitor and curtail instances of corruption. Already, the National Audit Authority is operational., The Anti-corruption Unit within the CAR Secretariat is systematically following through on decisions of the Government to monitor their implemention. For example, it is helping to enforce Sub-decree 53 to remove irregular officials from the payroll.
I expect that the next version of the GAP will be much more ambitious to curb corruption and will introduce bolder initiatives. For example, we are now investigating ways and means to strengthen oversight institutions such as the NAA and inspection services within ministries and to complement them with the implementation of an Ombudsman Office to protect citizens better against administrative abuses.
We are also looking at such tools as an Anti-corruption law. Already a draft is under review. However, as I said on many occasions, any such tools must be implemented in a transparent and fair way. They themselves could lead to tremendous abuse.
All that to say that the Royal Government is committed to implement difficult measures that overtime will drastically reduce causes of corruption within the Administration. However, other measures such as criminalizing the bribery of government officials, fraud, tax evasion or avoidance, insider dealings, money laundering are also necessary. The rigorous implementation of such laws presupposes the existence of an effective judiciary. It also requires the existence of firm commitment to good governance principles by those outside the public sector.
I said, at the outset of my remarks that the Government does what it says it would do. Progress in reforming the Administration amply demonstrates the point. At the Tokyo Consultative Group meeting in 1999, the Royal Government presented its National Program for Administrative Reform. The NPAR is a multi-year program in three phases articulated along four axes. To this day, this is the program that guides our action.
By Tokyo 200 1, we were on the verge to completing phase 1 of the program. It was designed to achieve five major outcomes: to document and control the composition and distribution of the workforce, to develop essential instruments to manage and motivate personnel, to assess needs of ministries relating to corporate services (back office), to complete preparatory work to move the Administration closer to citizens and, strengthen the capacity to plan and manage the reform. To illustrate,
- The Census is now completed and more than 9000 irregular civil servants have been removed from the payroll.
- Within the next few weeks, all civil servants in good order will have been issued an ID card
- The payroll has been automated throughout the country
- A new classification system more conducive to career progression has been developed and is being implemented
- A new pay regime made of a basic salary and functional and responsibility allowances is being implemented
- Personnel management procedures and key elements of the FIRMIS are operational to control the workforce better
When we last met, we also presented a draft strategy to rationalize the Civil Service. The strategy is designed to further articulate phase two and three of the reform. It covered such issues as the size of the workforce and its composition, classification and remuneration,' Priority Mission Groups, deconcentration, Human Resource Development and information technology.
On October 19, the Royal Government formally adopted the strategy and agreed to implement three of its core components starting in fiscal 2002: a new classification regime, a new pay policy and the PMG program. On October 24, we presented the strategy and its early steps to the Donors Working Group on Administrative Reform. Please allow me to briefly expand on key elements of the strategy.
While the size of the Civil Service will remain at current levels over the next five years (some 163 000 employees), the composition and distribution of the workforce will change drastically. Thousands of public servants will need to be redeployed from the back office to the front office and from non-education and non-health sectors to meet anticipated front line needs in those two sectors. Such redeployment will require the introduction of measures to entice voluntary departures, the termination of certain services and the privatization and contracting out of others. The CAR Secretariat will be approaching the World Bank for assistance in articulating such programs (PHRD grant funded by Japan).
The new remuneration regime now being introduced will satisfy, over time, the needs of those working outside major centers, over 60% of the workforce. Already, starting in 2002, average base salaries will increase by about 37.9% on average with take home pay more than doubling in some instances. This increase in salary will take place within the existing fiscal framework and is being financed out of savings achieved through the application of good governance within HR management. The Government is also introducing performance-inducing elements that, over the years, will become more important. The basic pay based on one's classification will be complemented by a set of allowances to account for such things as risks associated with a job, remoteness and difficulties. The Royal Government is looking forward to be able to pay decent living wages for all civil servants but in the context of an overhaul of remuneration within the State apparatus and within available means.
With UNDP and ADB assistance, the CAR Secretariat has readied the PMG program for implementation starting in 2002. The program will be implemented in phases. The Royal Government has decided to fund a first wave of PMGs out of savings achieved through good governance measures. The UNDP is providing technical assistance to facilitate the implementation of early PMGs. The Royal Government is looking forward to the cooperation and financial support of its external partners in implementing and expanding the program. It offers promising p opportunities to accelerate the pace of change and to correct dysfunctional practices relating to salary supplementation.
Decentralization and deconcentration go hand in hand. The upcoming communal elections are the first steps to the further democratization of the country. The CAR has been actively involved with the decentralization process through participation in the NCSC and its sub-committees on the one hand. On the other hand, within the framework of the NPAR, the CAR is responsible for the development and implementation of a policy and program for deconcentration. Again with UNDP assistance, the CAR Secretariat has been preparing the ground for the development of a deconcentration strategy and work program. Building on work to date, we expect to be in position to complete the strategy and submit it to the Government in time for the next Consultative Group should appropriate means are made available on time.
I would like to underline that deconcentration has to do with bringing public services closer to the people. As such, it will seek to address issues way beyond the immediate needs of the newly elected commune councils. Yet, in the coming weeks, the Secretariat will undertake extensive consultations with a view to deconcentrate elements of back office processes (such as HR management) to complement work underway with regard to financial and fiscal deconcentration undertaken by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. While the UNDP will assist in the articulation of the strategy, we will be approaching the World Bank (through the PHRD grant) to help us articulate elements of the program such as the Special Operating Agencies and the One Window Service Delivery mechanism.
Another key element of the strategy relates to the development of the human resources. Here again we have achieved important progress since we last met. With UNDP assistance we have articulated the main elements of what will become a Master Plan for Human Resource Development. The plan will address not only training needs but also the revamping of training facilities. We are working closely with French assistance to fully develop the plan. With the World Bank, we are putting the finishing touch to a capacity building loan that will kick-start the strategy. That latter project should be operational by mid 2002.
These are but a few examples of activities either underway or being planned in the context of the administrative reform. This list is by no means exhaustive. The Secretariat is also working on completing the Administration's legal framework, the HRMIS, on introducing information technology within the Administration, on improving communications and understanding about the reform (such as the publication of periodic bulletin and the operation of a website), on building capacity to manage the reform and so on. But I have already taken too much of your time to expand on these other initiatives.
Samdech Prime Minister, Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen
As you can see and appreciate, the Royal Government has been making important progress since we last met in Tokyo this past June and the pace of reform is accelerating rapidly. The work agenda is heavy yet it is realistic. We look forward to enhance our partnerships in order to meet better the expectations of the Royal Government relating to the Administration and its Civil Service. In the coming weeks and months, the CAR Secretariat will approach you to put in place necessary partnership arrangements.
In closing, I would like to say that none of this would be possible without the full cooperation of all and foremost that of Ministers, ministries and officials throughout the Administration. Please allow me to reiterate the Royal Government's deep appreciation for your continuing support and assistance. In particular, I would like to thank the UNDP, the World Bank, Japan, Canada, France and the ADB for their unrelenting support.
Thank you very much for your attention.