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Meeting local needs


04/2006		  

[ Institution building ]

Boosting municipal administration

Germany’s Rhine-Sieg District and the Italian city of Spoleto are helping the cities of Battambang and Siem Reap in Cambodia to beef up their administrative performance. The government in Phnom Penh considers both municipalities pilots of decentralisation.


[ By Nina N. Ouan ]

Cambodia’s public authorities are anything but citizen-friendly. The business of delivering even simple government services often involves long and costly processes. This is because structures are centralised. Automobile licences, for example, are issued only in the capital, and an application to build a factory or sizeable hotel requires ministerial approval.

But that could soon change. In the coming years, Phnom Penh plans to gradually decentralise public administration. In June 2005, the government announced a “strategic framework” for the intended reform. “The Royal Government is committed to create and establish a sub-national governance system that is based on participatory democratic principles, including representation, public participation, responsiveness, accountability and transparency,” says Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng.

According to the government programme, the judiciary and administration are reform priorities. Ordinary Cambodians hope that life will become a great deal simpler once the government devolves significant powers to district level. The 2002 local elections offer a good basis for that to happen. For the first time in history, the country has decentralised, pluralist, democratically legitimate decision-making bodies at the local level. The provinces, on the other hand, will initially continue to be agencies for implementing the directives of central government. Germany supports the creation of democratic structures through development cooperation.

At present, the districts do not play a role in the political process. Vietnam, whose army invaded Cambodia in 1979 and put an end to the dictatorial regime of Pol Pot, established a political system modelled on its own: centralist, dominated by one party. So a great deal of work needs to be done. Local councils often find it hard to coordinate town planning. Sometimes, their authority extends only to a single urban neighbourhood.

Battambang and Siem Reap are Cambodia’s second and third biggest cities, with populations of 180,000 and 150,000 respectively. Battambang is located on the edge of a large rice-growing area. Producing two harvests a year, it is seen as the country’s “rice bowl”. Siem Reap attracts tourists from all over the world thanks to the temple complex of Angkor Wat, a UNESCO world heritage site. Both cities are regional centres and provide political, economic and cultural opportunities to citizens. At the same time, the young local municipal administrations are struggling to contend with a host of problems stemming from inexperience, poorly defined responsibilities and rampant corruption.

Many municipalities are not in a position to ensure coherent town planning. Towns are growing fast, infrastructures are often weak, environmental problems are mounting. This is particularly true in Siem Reap. With the number of tourists visiting the area increasing, water and power consumption is rising and waste disposal problems are becoming more acute. Experts warn that if groundwater levels fall any further, the temples of Angkor Wat could be at risk. But such problems are more than the local administration can handle. Like its counter parts elsewhere, it has neither the powers nor the financial resources to do so.


Cooperation at local government level

Germany’s Rhine-Sieg District and the Italian city of Spoleto are helping Battambang and Siem Reap to set up efficient institutions. In doing so, they are promoting democracy and good governance. The 2002 local council elections were an important first step in that direction. In the coming years, more of the executive and financial powers currently retained in Phnom Penh will be devolved to lower political levels. “After three decades of war and civil war, the country has made good progress in recent years in developing democratic and constitutional institutions,“ says Rhine-Sieg District project coordinator Hans Clasen. However, there is still “considerable need for reform”.

German and Italian administration professionals are helping officials of the two district centres to develop citizen-friendly, democratic administrations. The InWEnt branch “Municipalities in One World/Partnership Initiative” supports such activities with seminars, publications and presentations.

Lack of transparency and corruption are found at nearly every level of Cambodia’s political system, undermining public confidence in politicians and administrations. In Transparency International’s corruption index, Cambodia ranks 130th in a table of 158 countries. The widespread corruption across the country cannot be stamped out totally in the near future. But first steps are being taken through local projects. With the help of European experts, “One Window Service Offices” have been established. This is where local authorities offer important services for citizens. These offices display lists showing the precise charge for each service. What is more, every citizen has the right to lodge complaints directly with the ombudsman, whose office is on the same premises. Rising visitor figures show that service delivery is working.

“The reform of the administration is a success,” says Battambang District Governor Uy Ry. “At the One Window Service Offices, citizens today get a good, cheap, corruption-free service. But there is still a great deal to be done. More powers urgently need to be devolved to enable the administration to get to grips with local problems.”

Visiting administration professionals from Rhine-Sieg District and Spoleto help analyse the situation and develop solutions. The exchange of ideas is boosted by workshops with staff and decision-makers of the relevant ministries in Phnom Penh and at the provincial, district and municipal levels. The envolvement of Rhine-Sieg District and Spoleto is being co-financed by the European Commission.

The European experts are volunteers, engaging in the project on top of their normal duties. “All those involved take pride in the fact that they have accomplished some difficult tasks and have added many new perspectives to their work,” says Hans Clasen, who coordinates the project at Rhine-Sieg District. “They are more confident of their own abilities, and their intercultural and linguistic skills have improved.”

Clasen and his colleagues stay in touch with their counterparts. “We keep an eye on developments even when there is no mission coming up.” District Administrator Frithjof KŸhn is also pleased: “The projects are the district administration’s most successful, economical and exciting personnel development project.”

What will certainly be exciting are developments over the next three years. “During this phase, it will be necessary to prepare and put into place at national, provincial, district and municipal level those basic structures, procedures and systems that are essential to underpin and guide the decentralisation process,” says Deputy Prime Minister Sar Kheng. In 2007, local elections will be held again. For 2008 and 2009, the government plans indirect elections to district and provincial councils.

With the European experts’ help, Battambang and Siem Reap have already established such bodies to ensure civic participation. In January 2005, district councils, which are made up of the local mayors and their deputies and advise the governors on all important matters, were established. The teams, which have spent two years working on development plans for the two districts, stage regular public fora to discuss town planning with the local citizenry.

The administrative institutions developed at Battambang and Siem Reap with European assistance could help accelerate the pace of reform. In the light of present successes, the relevant ministries are now considering putting the devolution of responsibilities and resources on a broader footing. A decision to do so would have implications for the development of the whole country. Hans Clasen and his colleagues helped get the process started.


Nina Narith Ouan
is a specialist on public administration at InWEnt’s “Municipalities in One World/Partnership Initiative”.
nina.ouan@inwent.org