INTRODUCTION

 

The holding of the second General Elections in 1998 which were organized by the Cambodian people themselves were both fully in line with the spirit of 1993 Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia and an expression of our continued implementation of democratic, liberal and multi-party system so as to put into full play the sense of mastership over the country's destiny as well as enhancing the Cambodian nation's prestige in the international arena. Starting from the above historical event that the international community viewed it as a miracle of the Mekong River, the Royal Government of Cambodia, with Samdech Prime Minister Hun Sen at the helm, came into being and laid down a triangular   strategy aimed at boosting a sustainable national development.

 

Strong with its Win-Win Policy initiated   by Samdech Prime Minister Hun Sen, the Royal Government of Cambodia had put a total end to the Khmer Rouge military and political organization, thereby bringing a full peace to the whole country by ending a more than two-decade of internal rift and civil warfare. In turn, the Cambodian people have had rights to freely travel nationwide with joy and hope.

 

The Kingdom of Cambodia upgraded the relations with the United Nations, became   the tenth member of ASEAN, and normalized its relations with various international financial institutions and international organizations. Efforts are being made in order to join in the nearest   future the World Trade Organization so as to fully integrate Cambodia into the regional and world community.

         The Government also paid its special attention to restore and boost the socio-economic development through public administrative reform, military reform, demobilization of armed forces, economic and public finance reform, legal and judicial reform, land policy implementation, environment protection, sustainable natural resource management, all of which are aimed at alleviating the people's poverty.

 

As far as the social reform is concerned, the Government curtailed the military and security expenditures year by year through the demobilization of militiamen and armed forces in order to re-allocate it to the four priority sectors, namely health, education, rural development and agriculture.

 

The Government had designed the Second Socio-Economic Development Plan (SEDPII) for a period of five years (2001-2005), the National Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategies (2003-2005), the Yearly Public Investment Plan to back up the second five-year plan and a related plan of action for each specific sector within the framework of good governance.

 

The strengthening of democratic practices   and the rule of law through the successful holding of the Communal Council Elections on 03 February 2002 constitutes an undeviating and firm commitment of the Royal Government in carrying out the   decentralization policy at the local level.

 

In the same vein, the Government has been doing its part to provide support to the preparatory process of the upcoming third General Elections scheduled to be held on 27 July 2003.

The successive successes obtained by the Government and the entire people of Cambodia indeed have broadly won the sympathy and confidence both inside and outside the country and this was reflected in the positive result of the Consultative Group Meetings. Last but not least, Cambodia recently hosted the first Greater Mekong Sub-region Summit, the eighth ASEAN Summit, the ASEAN + 3 Summit, the ASEAN + 1 Summit as well as the third World Buddhism Conference.

 

In short, all these significant achievements stemmed from the efforts striven by the Coalition Government between the Cambodian People's Party and the Funcinpec Party coupled with the full backstopping rendered respectively on the part of the members of National Assembly and Senate under the Royal leadership of His Majesty Preah Bat                Norodom Sihanouk, the King of   Cambodia and Her Majesty the Queen as well as the support from the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, Military Police, National Police, Civil Servants, Local Authorities of all levels, Private Sector, Workers, Farmers, Youth, Students, Intellectuals, Benefactors, Civil Society,  Monks and Buddhist believers, other religions and the Cambodian people as a whole  along with the precious and indispensable assistance rendered on the part of the international community.

 

******

 

         KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA

       Nation Religion King

 

                      SURFACE AREA AND POPULATION OF T       OF THE KINGDOM OF CAMBODIA

 

1-Surface Area: 181,035km2

          

Cambodia borders Thailand, Vietnam and Lao.

 

Statistics of   Provinces (P), Municipalities (M), Districts (D), Precincts (Pr), Communes (C), Quarters (Q) and Villages (V)

 

Year

P

M

D

Pr

C

Q

V

1999

20

4

170

14

1,499

110

13,216

2000

20

4

170

14

1,500

110

13,427

2001

20

4

171

14

1,510

111

13,707

2002

20

4

171

14

1,510

111

13,707

Total

20

4

171

14

1,510

111

13,707

             

2- Population

 

 - In 1998:                     11,437,656

 - In 2002:                        12,251,098

       -Over 18 years old:       6,749,876

 

A triangular strategy laid down by the   Royal Government with Samdech Prime Minister Hun Sen at the helm was carried out in four axes.

 

MAJOR WORK ACHIEVED BY    THE ROYAL GOVERMENT                       (30 Nov, 1998-2002)

 

I- Strengthening Peace, Security and Social Order

 

The Government took great pride in its work to strengthen and ensure peace   security and social order for the Cambodian people, local and foreign businessmen and investors, national and international guests, diplomatic corps, national and international organizations as well as NGOs based in Cambodia.

The Government has also been successful in its endeavors to provide security and social order to the proceedings of the sixth Consultative Group Meeting held for the first time in Phnom Penh, the first Greater Mekong Sub-region, the eight ASEAN Summit, the ASEAN + 3 Summit, the ASEAN +1 Summit, the third World Buddhism Conference with the participation of 16 countries and the Royal procession of Buddha's relics that was held to take the relics from a decades-old stupa to a newly-constructed site located at Preah Reach Trop mountain of Ponhear Leu district, Kandal province, where the relics would be placed.

 

-Up to 31 January 2003, the competent authorities have seized 119,104 riffles (946 short guns), destroyed and burnt down 103,995 riffles on 22 times.

 

    Results of Crime Suppression

Year

Crackdown (case)

Detained offenders

1999

2,064

3,182

2000

2,374

3,746

2001

3,016

4,667

2002

3,185

4,297

Total

          10,639

15,892

 

Confiscated Evidence

Year

Weapons

Grenades

Vehicles

Motorbikes

1999

290

35

15

165

2000

158

8

19

157

2001

328

37

26

347

2002

211

74

21

362

Total

987

154

81

1,031

 

  

II-Democratization, the Rule of Law and Integration of Cambodia into the Regional and   World Community

 

 1-Democratization

The constitutional establishments are normally functioning in accordance with the constitution, namely the King's institutions, the Senate, the National Assembly, the Constitutional Council, the Supreme Council of Magistracy, the judiciary institutions and                         the Governmental establishments. Furthermore, so free was the operation of the Civil Society that the international opinion could regard the Kingdom of Cambodia as heaven of the NGOs.

 

 1-1-Political Parties

 57 political parties including 45 were   registered at the Ministry of Interior.

 

 1-2-Political Parties competing the Communal Council Elections

8 political parties competed in the Communal Council Elections that were held on 3 February 2002.

 

Summary  (source from NEC)

 

Description

Votes

Chiefs of communes and quarters

Seats

Cambodian People's Party

2,674,303

1,598

7,703

Funcinpec Party

958,326

10

2,211

Sam Rainsy Party

731,150

13

1,346

 

 

 1-3-Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations:  1,204

-Local Associations and non-governmental organizations:          974                                       

-International NGOs/organizations: 230                    

      

 1-4-Mass Media

-Newspapers: 13 daily news, 90 weekly news and 73 fortnightly news

-Bulletins: 2 daily bulletins, 4 weekly bulletins and 24 monthly bulletins  

       -Magazines: 59                                              

-Agencies of news and foreign TV to Cambodia: 12                                              

 

-Radio and television stations in Phnom  Penh

        - State-run TV station:                                    1

        - Private-run TV stations:                          5

-Foreign relay-TV stations:                       2   (Vietnamese: 1 and French: 1)

        - Cable-TV companies:                             3

        - AM and FM radio stations:                   17

 

-Radio and television stations in provinces/municipalities

- TV stations:                                          14     

- Relay-TV stations and cable-TV stations    (18 provinces/municipals):                     31

        

2-Strengthening of the Rule of Law

 

Description

1999

2000

2001

2002

Cabinet meetings

  37

  28

  36

  35

Inter-ministerial meetings

233

249

265

230

Issued

judicial

sub-

decrees

(Number)

121

103

132

131

Issued nominating sub-decrees

(Number)

570

430

554

605

Decisions (Number)

89

67

75

55

Directive circulars (Number)

16

13

14

2

Published Royal Gazettes

(Volume)

75,000

75,000

48,000

46,000

Draft laws submitted to legislative

institutions

23

24

17

31

Laws adopted by  legislative

institutions

23

11

18

21

 

           Total (1999-2002)

  -Cabinet meetings:                             128

  -Meetings between the government and the private sector:                                 8

  -Inter-ministerial meetings:               977              

  - Drafted legislation:                           95  

  -Law adopted by Legislative institutions :73                                       

  -Issuance of sub-decrees:                487  

  -Nomination sub-decrees: 2159; and,   

  -Issue and vulgarize other legal   documents among the public through the Royal Gazettes in order to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of law enforcement; thereby encouraging civil servants, armed forces, people, civil society and the private sector to participate in the implementation of laws and legal documents. 

 

3-State Reform

 

To implement successfully the reform policies of the Royal Government of Cambodia, the Supreme Council for Sate Reform has been established by the Royal Decree NS/RKT/0399/72 dated March 19,1999 chaired by Samdech HUN SEN, Prime Minister, Deputies Prime Minister, H.E SAR KHENG and H.E TOL LAH are Vice-chairs, and Senior Minister, H.E SOK AN is Permanent member.

 

 

3-1 The Council for Administrative Reform

Significant achievements of the Royal Government of Cambodia are as followings:

-Create a database and personal files of all civil servants through the Civil Servant Census which is a necessary tool for the new management system to better manage the civil servants. Distribute ID cards to central and provincial civil servants.

-New classification regime and new remuneration system for civil servants, were established and implemented, started from January 2002.

-Create necessary legal texts to reinforce the new management system such as civil servants obligations, 22 particular statutes (inter-ministerial administration, health, diplomacy and techniques).

-Computerized payroll was created and implemented since 2001.

-Pay automation is in place and working for all ministries and provinces by implementing the new remuneration system, started January 2002, by which, the average salary has been increased of 44.3% (the components of new remuneration system are: basic salary, functional allowances, pedagogical allowances,....).

-Improve and shorten the process of the payroll and the retirement.

-Draft the concept of "One window service delivery".

-Draft politics and strategies of De-concentration in Cambodia and design policies and particular structures to administrate the urban districts.

For Local Administration, significant achievements of the Royal Government of Cambodia are as follows:

-Law on commune-Sangkat election and Law on Commune-Sangkat Administration Management.

-1,621 Commune-Sangkat Councils elected.

-Mechanism to support decentralization process at Commune-Sangkat.

( See  Annex I)

 

  3-2 Civil Service

 

Situation and Variation in the Size of Civil Servants

 

Description

Variation

Retirees

Selected

civil servants

Integrated

civil servants

Civil servants on the payroll

1999

3,775

924

217

16,772

2000

3,424

5,739

446

162,991

2001

959

4,820

124

162,197

2002

 

 

124

160,189

 

Providing Visas to Nomination (from 2000 to February 2003)

-Provide nominating visas to 24 positions of civil servants (nominated by Royal decrees)

-Provide nominating visas to 179 positions of civil servants (nominated by sub-decrees).

 

3-3 Economic and Public Finance Reform

 

  3-3-1 Macro-Economic Situation

The implementation of this State reform            has brought about a positive result, reflecting through the GDP Growth's average rate of 7% from 1999 to 2002.

 

 

Description

1999

2000

2001

2002*

GDP(%)

6.9

7.7

6.3

5

*Initial evaluation

         

The Government continues to push forward the implementation of military demobilization program so as to further reallocate the savings from defense and security to other priority expenditures, particularly to socio-economic development.

  

In 2003, the Government continues to further increase the budgetary allocation to the four- priority ministries:

- The Ministry of Health (MoH): 17.6%                           

-The Ministry of Education, Youth and    Sports (MoEYS): 12.9%                                                                                        

-The Ministry of Rural Development (MRD): 5%                                                               

-The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and   Fisheries (MAFF): 8.4%              &n