Cambodia Future

When asked about the achievements of Taches commune, councilors immediately describe infrastructure projects. In the first mandate (2002-2007), Taches commune built rural roads, bridges, culverts, schools, water sluices, dams and channels, etc., using the commune budget or funding from provincial line departments, NGOs and other sources. Rehabilitation and repair, particularly of irrigation systems, were firm commune priorities. For example, in 2005, the commune used the commune fund to dig a channel of 2,700m for citizens in five villages. This channel provided many advantages to farmers, such as: 1) the need to spend less time irrigating because of the channel’s proximity; 2) decreased vulnerability to drought; 3) less money spent on diesel for motor pumps; and 4) availablility of water all year long.

In general, the commune budget is used mostly for infrastructure projects, which absorb a huge amount of money, are big and are also able to serve people’s needs. These achievements are easier to count and remember as compared with non-infrastructure achievements, which are mostly not implemented by the CC. However, this did not mean that the council has forgotten or passed over service delivery projects. The CC has many service delivery projects in its three-year rolling commune investment program (CIP), seeking support from provincial line departments, NGOs, institutions and charitable persons in the annual district integration workshop (DIW) between August and November. The CC is clear that it will not use the commune budget to implement such projects.

After 1979, Cambodia has trying its best in order to build infrastructure under the budget of the government, donors, NGOs and generous people. Today, under the adoption of decentralization at local commune levels with the support of previous Seila Program (and now the National Committee for Support of Decentralization and Deconcentration Reform Program: NCDD), many small rural roads built in almost 1,621 communes. Roads which were built are now being repaired. However, the rural roads are not enough yet to serve the economic and social welfare demand of local residents. Thus, there is still needs to build more roads and enlarge the roads as demand increases and the economy grows from day to day, even less or more.

Building rural roads seem very popular in Cambodia and sometime the building is used to attract the support from the local people by political parties. A recent report on the reasons why the Cambodian People Party won the 1st April 2007 commune election are infrastructures construction at rural areas such as roads, water canals, etc. For whatever reason they build roads, but we see that rural roads built to serve the interest of villagers. Because we have rural roads, the commune councils who are going to take office after this Khmer New Year shall take the reparation and maintenance of rural roads as important, being in line with the government rectangular strategy.

Decentralization and deconcentration reform program of the Royal Government of Cambodia is moving foreward from the past fifteen years with efforts of the Carere and Seila I and Seila II. As the Seial II finished its mandate in 2006, the new program continued called Decentralization and Deconcentration. The last program is ……….