Cambodia

The activities of this Country Assistance Strategy under Pillar I will help implement improvements in govemance that are needed if Cambodia is to meet the Cambodia Millennium... Show More + Development Goals (CMDGs). Pillar 2 of the CAS allocates World Bank activities and resources to supporting the strategy development and investments needed to attain the CMDGs. Key governance issues and supporting efforts to attain the CMDGs defines what the World Bank Group will do in the next CAS period, working through strategic partnerships and promoting the development of national ownership defines how results will be achieved. The World Bank Group will undertake more active communication of goals and activities and more systematic engagement with civil society and the private sector stakeholders within Cambodia; and will contribute to improving Government-led coordination of external assistance, either working through or helping to promote the evolution of coordination structures such as sector-wide approaches (SWAPS). Show Less -

This Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) reviews the main strengths of the National Poverty Reduction Strategy (NPRS), namely, the openness, and extensive participation... Show More + in the development of the strategy, including consultations with the poor, engagement with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and interactions with the donor community, in addition to agencies' involvement in the process, linking sectoral strategies , and, deeper treatment of key cross-cutting issues, such as governance improvement, public sector performance, and private sector development. However, the authorities will need to focus on the following shortcomings, and challenges: 1) addressing weaknesses in costing, and prioritization, linked to the annual budget, and further development of the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework; 2) broadening central responsibility, since the core team of the NPRS core team has still very limited staff, and capacity, by ensuring the full engagement of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, so as to help reinforce linkages with the budget, and to sectoral strategies; 3) improving governance, and combating corruption; 4) building national capacity for poverty monitoring, including evaluation of key programs, and policies; and, 5) further elaborating pro-poor rural, and infrastructure development strategies. The staffs see major risks to the implementation of the strategy, and, of particular concern, is the gap remaining between public pronouncements, and real achievements on the ground, in respect to reforms in governance, and anti-corruption, which could undermine donor assistance, private investment, the quality of public services, and credibility of Government commitments to reform implementation. Regardless of the above, the NPRS provides sound basis for concessional assistance. Show Less -

The major strengths of the Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (I-PRSP) are: 1) the candidness of the review of achievements in poverty reduction and human resource... Show More + development as against aerlier targets; 2) a detailed and critical discussion of the government's existing strategy; a clear agenda for data collection and policy analysis will be undertaken during preparation of the full PRSP; and 4) the involvement of a broad range of agencies across government as well as numerous external partners and a clear agenda for participation in the full PRSP. Looking ahead to the full PRSP, the main concern relates to the government's weak administrative capacity and difficulties in coordinating arrangements among different government and donor agencies and among various policy and planning initiatives. The work program for the full PRSP is ambitious but should be manageable if appropriately coordinated and actively led by the government with externaltechnical and financial support. Show Less -

This third Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for Cambodia aims to help the Government build the foundations for sustainable development and poverty reduction for the... Show More + medium to long term. These foundations are: 1) good governance including an efficient and accountable public administration and a credible legal and judicial framework that safeguards basic human and property rights; 2) greater access for the poor to basic social services and economic opportunities; and 3) a policy environment that encourages private investment and entrepreneurship. While building on the lessons and achievements of previous strategies, this CAS focuses on partnership. The Bank Group will formalize strategic partnerships in policy dialogue, analytical work, and the development and implementation of sector strategies under the government's leadership. Sector-wide approaches will be explored in priority areas - governance, infrastructure, health, and possibly education, to pilot this partnership strategy. Moreover, it also outlines a two-tier monitoring framework comprising: a) a set of economic and social indicators consistent with global development goals established by the international community; and b) intermediate milestones directly related to the Bank Group's dialogue and program with the government. Show Less -

The Bank's long-term objective in Cambodia is to promote broad-based and sustainable development that results in a rapid reduction in poverty. The Bank agrees with the... Show More + Government's general strategy which includes: 1) legal reform to establish critical economic, financial, and business laws that are now absent; 2) administrative reform, which would include: reducing civil service by 20 percent by 1997 and increase salaries as permitted by revenues; training of personnel; and reform of the military; 3) rural development and natural resource management to raise rural living standards and to overcome the Khmer Rouge insurgency; 4) infrastructure investments, particularly, in the transport sector, power, and water resource management; 5) human resource development which includes training of personnel in the public sector and development of social services; and finally 6) aid coordination. There is a real danger in the next few years that the Government - and donors - will spread themselves too thin and try to do too much, with the result that little gets achieved. To address this situation the Bank proposes for the next year a three-pronged approach: 1) to assist the Government to strengthen its capacity to set clear priorities and to implement development programs; 2) to carry out analytical work that will improve the knowledge base; and 3) to support critical rehabilitation and reconstruction that will have a significant impact quickly. Show Less -