- Last Updated on 25 January 2013
- By Stuart Alan Becker
- When Ashley Irving worked for the prestigious Rothschild Bank in Sydney, earning a massive salary and enjoying a lot of status in the community, he still wasn’t happy with all the stress that comes naturally with corporate finance.On vacation at Ayer’s Rock in Australia he met a group of three English teachers from Argentina. They were so happy and fun, he decided to visit them in Argentina and the trip changed his life. He walked away from corporate finance and made his career in the teaching of English.He absolutely loves it.Today Irving works as principal at the Australian Center for Education (ACE), a purely English language school and the largest one in Phnom Penh.“We belong to IDP education based in Melbourne. The main business lines are placing students with universities in most English speaking countries,” Irving said.Purely an English language school, ACE offers the IELTS test and variations including academic English, general English, English for young learns and programs for kids.Irving says the communicative method is used.“We get them talking. To learn language they use the language; the focus on kids is getting them to use language, reading and speaking.”At ACE, every term is 10 weeks, 45 hour courses and cost about $200 to $230 per term depending on the level.“We are affordable but not cheap. People who come in are serious. The families spend money and they want something for their money. If it wasn’t working it would not come back.”One of Irving’s own early teachers had been profoundly influenced by Professor Noam Chomsky of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and his work in linguistics and language acquisition.“He wore a T-shirt that said Chomsky is My Hero.”ACE’s general English course is available to ages 16 and up, with levels from beginner to upper intermediate.“We test reading and grammar and use that to establish their level and place them in appropriate course, and have courses running from 6:30 in the morning until 8:30 at night.”Even though he’s now the principal and therefore the administrator, Irving loves teaching English and remains passionate about it.“If you are giving out positive energy, they enjoy it and you get it back tenfold, from people in the room. Some days you go home dancing. The best teachers are nice people, they talk to you, and you put them in front of a class and they light up.”ACE is located on Street 214 in Kampuchea Krom. They also have a school in Siem Reap. Irving invites anyone to take a placement test for the $5 fee, which students get back when they enroll.Irving has been here in Cambodia for the last eight months and loves his job.“My only regret is not doing it 10 years earlier,” he said.Between the Phnom Penh and Siem Reap schools, ACE has about 8,500 students.The ages are 8 to adult, and most of the students are ages 17 to 21 and more than 95 per cent Khmer students.“English is the mandated language of ASEAN, so from the top down English is important. The Khmer s are all keen from the start. We’ve been here 20 years and we’re well known. They come to us for English and once they are there, they are fun to be around.”When you smile at somebody here, Irving says, they smile back.“The levels of cynicism are much lower, which is great fun. The teenagers are open and they’ll come and talk to you. It is a privilege, so the need the break down barriers doesn’t exist, because they already assume you’re worth talking to.”Irving studied applied mathematics at Australia’s La Trobe University and worked for many years for National Mutual Insurance as an actuary, dealing with statistics and probabilities.Following his term as a corporate banker, his whole life changed when he met the teachers from Argentina.Returning to Australia after time teaching English in Argentina and Brazil, Irving went to work at Sydney’s Holmes College teaching international students from around the world.He later became director of study at Access Language Center at Sydney and managed the teaching center for the Adult Migrant English School Service (AMES) in New South Wales.“To learn a language is just sheer hard work. Work, review, go to class, be prepared to fail, be embarrassed, it’s hard, for a teen or adult, and for somebody working full time it is really hard.”ACE employs 120 teachers both expats and Khmer.
To contact the reporter on this story: Stuart Alan Becker at stuart.becker@gmail.com
I am proud of being a Khmer. Sharing knowledge is a significant way to develop our country toward the rule of law and peace.
Sunday, 27 January 2013
Banker turns English teacher and loves it
PM Hun Sen chastises RCFA for unprofessionalism
- Last Updated on 25 January 2013
- By Vong Sokheng
- Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday blasted unnamed senior military
officers for breaking RCAF regulations and urged the Ministry of Defence
to improve both its training and its level of professionalism.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Chinese-Cambodian Friendship Infantry Institution — a new facility at Kampong Speu’s Combined Arms Officer School Thlok Tasek — the premier said there were reports that unqualified officers had bribed their way to higher ranks.
“What we are interested in at the moment is irregularities in the promotion of military officers that were not conducted in a good manner,” he told the gathering of about 1,000 newly graduated soldiers.
The soldiers returned recently from a Chinese military academy. At the new facility in Phnom Sruoch district, young soldiers will receive quality training from Chinese advisers to improve their knowledge and skill so they can replace retiring officers.
Calling for stricter regulation and enforcement of laws already in place, the premier also suggested the Defence Ministry “conduct a study into the establishment of sub-decrees and Prakases about the training of RCAF to keep them in order and effective.”
“Some senior military officials have not respected the law on the statute of RCAF and general procedure,” Hun Sen said.
His suggestion was given concurrent to a National Assembly debate that took place yesterday over a long-dormant draft law to create an oversight body called the Supreme Council of National Defence.
The council would be given the right to monitor the military and take disciplinary action against officers.
It would also be responsible, more generally, for safeguarding the nation’s territorial integrity and would have the power to evaluate whether to declare a state of emergency.
In the law that passed yesterday – with 85 of 97 lawmakers present voting in its favour – King Norodom Sihamoni would serve as head and Hun Sen as deputy president.
The members of the council – enshrined in the constitution two decades ago – are the minister of Defence, minister of Interior, head of the Council of Ministers, minister of Foreign Affairs, Finance minister, and general-commander of RCAF.
That composition drew the ire of opposition lawmakers, who said during yesterday’s debate they were concerned over the heavy presence of the ruling party on the council.
“We think that the members and deputy president would all be from the CPP, therefore it would not guarantee for the neutrality,” said lawmaker and Sam Rainsy Party spokesman Yim Sovann. “I would request for amendment of the composition and will provide to the power for the King to elect the members.”
Such criticisms, however, did little to sway the vote.
Minister of Interior Sar Kheng, who is also a lawmaker and would be among the members once the law goes into affect, defended the structure during the five-hour debate.
“The law did not name the members, just the title, therefore if another political party comes to take the power in the government, they would sit in this composition,” he argued.
To contact the reporter on this story: Vong Sokheng at sokheng.vong@phnompenhpost.com
My Academic Publication at the University of Science, Malaysia (USM)
Dear friends,
It is my pleasure to share my brief impression regarding to academic papers during my PhD journey at Malaysia. Honestly, when I worked at Cambodia, I didn't know what are academic publication and research paper. Fortunately, I have received USM fellowship award to study at USM, and I was trained by many experts how to write academic papers for publishing in Journals and Book Chapters. Therefore, I have to increase my capacity building to publish in high impact factor journals such as ISI and Scopus.
First step, I must publish in low quality journals (without impact factors) like Peer Reviews Journals (Open Access Journals) and Indexed Journals (Google Scholar, Ulrich's Periodical Directory, Open J-Gate, EBSCOhost, Gale's Academic Databases, AMICUS, Canadiana, Library and Archives Canada, Lockss, PKP Open Archives Havester, and ProQuest).
I need to cope with various academic publication environment. Next step, I will publish in Scopus and ISI journals only. During one year of my doctorate studies, I have published 5 articles (4 published and 1 under review process). If you want to read them, please access at following links:
1. Google Scholar: http://scholar.google.com.my/citations?hl=en&user=I70xug4AAAAJ
2. Academia Edu: http://usm.academia.edu/SamRany
3. ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sam_Rany/?ev=hdr_xprf
Have a nice day!
All best wishes,
Sam Rany
Thursday, 24 January 2013
Government Tells Unions to Agree on Minimum Wage Demands
By Phok Dorn and Colin Meyn - January 23, 2013
The government on Monday requested that manufacturers look at raising the minimum wage for garment workers, but only after divided trade unions agree on what that wage should be.
At the moment, union leaders are demanding that the current $61 per month minimum wage be raised to between $93 and $150, a 52 percent and 145 percent hike, respectively.
“After discussions, those present at the meeting agree in principle to discuss raising the minimum wage for workers,” the Ministry of Labor said in a statement after a meeting between manufacturers and unions on the issue.
“The meeting requested all unions meet and raise a joint request for the minimum wage to be discussed with the employers to reach a resolution,” the statement says, adding that union leaders should submit their request to the government before the next meeting at the ministry on February 26.
Yesterday’s meeting followed a speech from Prime Minister Hun Sen on December 12 in which he called on manufacturers to up salaries in Cambodia’s garment factories in order to keep workers in the country.
The last time the minimum wage was increased was in July 2010, when it was raised from $50 to $61.
Ken Loo, secretary-general of the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia, said prior to Monday’s meeting that demands from many of the unions were “unrealistic.”
“We can’t expect 50 to 60 to 70 percent [increase in the minimum wage]. The Royal Government announced a 20 percent salary increase [for civil servants], so I would presume that that would be a good starting point,” he said.
Jill Tucker, chief technical adviser for the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) Better Factories Cambodia program, said that the ILO would mediate discussions between the various trade unions—which represent some 300,000 workers.
Sam Aun, president of the CPP-aligned Cambodia Labor Union Federation, said that $93 would be a fair figure, while Ath Thorn, president of the nonaligned Coalition of Cambodia Apparel Workers’ Democratic Union, said that he would stand behind raising the minimum wage to $150.
“I think that workers can live on a minimum wage of $93 per month because they also get their bonus, rent, and transport allowances and add overtime to their salary,” said Mr. Aun. But Mr. Thorn warned that if the wage hike was too modest, workers would likely continue to protest.
The government on Monday requested that manufacturers look at raising the minimum wage for garment workers, but only after divided trade unions agree on what that wage should be.
At the moment, union leaders are demanding that the current $61 per month minimum wage be raised to between $93 and $150, a 52 percent and 145 percent hike, respectively.
“After discussions, those present at the meeting agree in principle to discuss raising the minimum wage for workers,” the Ministry of Labor said in a statement after a meeting between manufacturers and unions on the issue.
“The meeting requested all unions meet and raise a joint request for the minimum wage to be discussed with the employers to reach a resolution,” the statement says, adding that union leaders should submit their request to the government before the next meeting at the ministry on February 26.
Yesterday’s meeting followed a speech from Prime Minister Hun Sen on December 12 in which he called on manufacturers to up salaries in Cambodia’s garment factories in order to keep workers in the country.
The last time the minimum wage was increased was in July 2010, when it was raised from $50 to $61.
Ken Loo, secretary-general of the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia, said prior to Monday’s meeting that demands from many of the unions were “unrealistic.”
“We can’t expect 50 to 60 to 70 percent [increase in the minimum wage]. The Royal Government announced a 20 percent salary increase [for civil servants], so I would presume that that would be a good starting point,” he said.
Jill Tucker, chief technical adviser for the International Labor Organization’s (ILO) Better Factories Cambodia program, said that the ILO would mediate discussions between the various trade unions—which represent some 300,000 workers.
Sam Aun, president of the CPP-aligned Cambodia Labor Union Federation, said that $93 would be a fair figure, while Ath Thorn, president of the nonaligned Coalition of Cambodia Apparel Workers’ Democratic Union, said that he would stand behind raising the minimum wage to $150.
“I think that workers can live on a minimum wage of $93 per month because they also get their bonus, rent, and transport allowances and add overtime to their salary,” said Mr. Aun. But Mr. Thorn warned that if the wage hike was too modest, workers would likely continue to protest.
'Hostage' standoff at Acleda bank branch ends with five arrests
- Last Updated on 24 January 2013
- By Kim Yuthana, Sam Rith and Chhay Channyda
- A suspected hostage situation that began Tuesday night was no more than
an elaborately staged attempted heist of an Acleda Bank branch, police
discovered late last night after apprehending the so-called kidnappers
following a 30-hour standoff.
Five men allegedly involved – including the acting branch manager and three other employees – were arrested by police yesterday in Kampong Cham province.
According to provincial police chief Chhay Kimson, the alleged bank robbers had fabricated the hostage situation – with two suspects, one with a gun, masquerading as meth addicts – as a bizarre ruse after plans to rob the small bank branch in Stung Trang district’s Beak Anlung village took a turn for the worse when police caught wind of a situation at the bank.
“Really, there were no hostages,” Kimson said late last night. “All of them are perpetrators. It is really an internal plan. We confiscated their K-54 [pistol].”
Until nearly midnight last night, police believed that two men had taken control of the bank at around 6pm Tuesday evening, taking three employees hostage, and initiating a standoff that lasted through Tuesday night and well into the next.
During the protracted negotiations, the supposed hostage-takers first demanded crystal meth, then that police loosen the ring of some 200 security personnel encircling the bank, and finally, two motorbikes for making good their escape.
After getting the motorbikes at about 10pm, police said, three men were seen fleeing into the darkness of a nearby rubber plantation, where they ditched the bikes, scattered and were later apprehended by security forces.
Upon arresting the three men – and questioning acting branch manager Sim Kimthath, who had been brought in as a person of interest, and branch employee Mat Ly, who had “escaped” the bank early Wednesday morning claiming to have been held hostage – police finally ascertained the truth of the matter, said Kimson.
Ly, he said, cracked under questioning, admitting that an injury where he had been struck in the face had actually been staged to lend his story authenticity.
Kimthath admitted to planning the heist to pay down a sizeable debt, said an unnamed provincial police officer.
The confessions, Kimson said, confirmed inklings of suspicion that the men were in cahoots that had been raised earlier when he overheard a voice – ostensibly a hostage’s – say from within the room where the men were holed up, “Don’t tie me too tight”.
One other suspect was Nou Tola, also known as Gem, 28, a soldier stationed at a border checkpoint in Preah Vihear province, and the only one of yesterday’s five alleged bank robbers who was not employed by Acleda, said another unnamed officer. The final two suspects’ identities could not be ascertained as of press time.
Throughout the entire day, police and Acleda Bank representatives were convinced that two meth-addled men, one armed, were holding two bank employees hostage, refusing food, declining an offer to leave with the bank’s 57 million riel (about $14,250) in exchange for the hostages, and repeatedly demanding that crystal meth be delivered to them.
In the end, even the number of people inside the bank turned out to be untrue, said Kimson. After Ly’s so-called “escape”, he said, there were only three men left inside.
Over the course of the day, police acquiesced to the suspected captors’ demands, first providing methamphetamines to the men inside around mid-afternoon, then sending for more to be delivered from Phnom Penh by Ministry of Interior police forces.
When roughly 25 black-clad anti-terrorism police showed up around 4pm, a Post reporter inside the bank overheard one of the suspects say: “If they shoot at us, we shoot back”.
Negotiations between the anti-terrorism police and the men broke down around 5:30pm, and at the request of both the assailants and Acleda representatives, police withdrew further from the premises, giving the men some breathing room, said Acleda Executive Vice President Prom Visoth.
“Our staffers have been detained in a room where we keep the money, but only a small amount of money,” he said at the time. “Police can’t do anything. The robbers want only drugs. They didn’t want money, but the police have no drugs for them.”
Visoth added that he had offered to let the suspects take the 57 million riel when they made their escape, but they declined.
Before learning that the branch had fallen victim to an inside job, Visoth called the incident a lesson for Acleda about the importance of security, saying that while most Acleda banks have armed police, the especially small Beak Anlung branch did not.
“In general, our banks have armed forces that we request from the national police providing us security, but at this office there is no police or security,” he said, noting that the branch handled little money, and sent what little it did handle to a district branch every night.
To contact the reporters on this story: Kim Yuthana at yuthana.kim@phnompenhpost.com, Sam Rith at newsroom@phnompenhpost.com
and Chhay Channyda at channyda.chhay@phnompenhpost.com
Freedom of information law dealt blow
- Last Updated on 24 January 2013
- By Meas Sokchea
- Discussion of a long-awaited freedom of information law was shot down
by the National Assembly yesterday, with ruling party officials
claiming the draft version violated the constitution.
Drafts floated by the Sam Rainsy Party had been repeatedly rejected by the National Assembly, though legal experts had been pushing for such legislation for years. Monitors had pointed out frequently that without public access to information, corruption will remain rampant.
Yesterday, CPP lawmaker Chheang Vun, who is president of the Commission on Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation, Information and Media said the draft proposed by the SRP was not suitable for debate.
“The draft law [as it stands] contrasts to the constitution and abuses sovereignty of King’s institution,” Vun said, declining to elaborate on the problems.
The SRP maintained the draft had no such failings, and SRP spokesman Yim Sovann accused the ruling party of stonewalling a law that could prove damning for corrupt officials.
Cambodia's 'worst year’ for land disputes
Last Updated on 24 January 2013
By May Titthara and Shane Worrell
More than 200 people were arrested while defending their land in 2012 – a year human rights groups described yesterday as Cambodia’s “worst” for land disputes.
Of the 201 people arrested – a figure that more than doubled the 2011 total – 29 were imprisoned, mostly on charges of destroying property, faking documents and encroaching on private property, said Chan Soveth, deputy head of the land rights department at rights group Adhoc.
“Two thousand twelve was the worst year for residents being arrested as they tried to save their homes,” he said, adding that disputes themselves had also soared.
The comments came as heads of the NGO Forum on Cambodia, the Housing Rights Task Force, Adhoc and the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee called on the government to take measures to end forced evictions and resolve land disputes.
A joint statement released by the organisations said more than 700,000 people had been affected by land grabbing and forced displacement since 2000, including 51,000 in 2011.
“In Phnom Penh, at least 145,000, or approximately 10 per cent of the city’s population have been evicted since 2000,” the statement said, adding that 40,000 had been under immediate threat of eviction at the end of 2011.
Sia Phearum, secretariat director of the Housing Rights Task Force, said forced evictions had decreased in 2012, but the fact 611 families had fled from disputes last year suggested conflict hadn’t.
“We’ve noticed that actual evictions decrease in the lead-up to elections,” he said.
Recommendations put forward by those involved in yesterday’s press conference included that the government end forced evictions, demarcate state and private land, release imprisoned Boeung Kak lake mother Yorm Bopha, make the economic land concession (ELC) review process transparent and prioritise systematic land registration for poor communities.
Soveth said more than 1,000 people involved in disputes had been arrested since 2007, many as a result of the government cracking down on protests against ELCs.
“Often the court sentences these people without properly investigating.”
Chhith Sam Ath, executive director of NGO Forum, said it was essential that disputes were resolved and villagers’ rights protected.
“Currently, landlessness is estimated at between 20 and 25 per cent of the total population.”
Phay Siphan, a spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said the government was doing a lot to help residents with land issues, including deploying students to demarcate land and issue land titles.
“This is a historic strategy, one that is very important for Cambodia,” he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: May Titthara at titthara.may@phnompenhpost.com
Shane Worrell at shane.worrell@phnompenhpost.com
By May Titthara and Shane Worrell
More than 200 people were arrested while defending their land in 2012 – a year human rights groups described yesterday as Cambodia’s “worst” for land disputes.
Of the 201 people arrested – a figure that more than doubled the 2011 total – 29 were imprisoned, mostly on charges of destroying property, faking documents and encroaching on private property, said Chan Soveth, deputy head of the land rights department at rights group Adhoc.
“Two thousand twelve was the worst year for residents being arrested as they tried to save their homes,” he said, adding that disputes themselves had also soared.
The comments came as heads of the NGO Forum on Cambodia, the Housing Rights Task Force, Adhoc and the Cambodian Human Rights Action Committee called on the government to take measures to end forced evictions and resolve land disputes.
A joint statement released by the organisations said more than 700,000 people had been affected by land grabbing and forced displacement since 2000, including 51,000 in 2011.
“In Phnom Penh, at least 145,000, or approximately 10 per cent of the city’s population have been evicted since 2000,” the statement said, adding that 40,000 had been under immediate threat of eviction at the end of 2011.
Sia Phearum, secretariat director of the Housing Rights Task Force, said forced evictions had decreased in 2012, but the fact 611 families had fled from disputes last year suggested conflict hadn’t.
“We’ve noticed that actual evictions decrease in the lead-up to elections,” he said.
Recommendations put forward by those involved in yesterday’s press conference included that the government end forced evictions, demarcate state and private land, release imprisoned Boeung Kak lake mother Yorm Bopha, make the economic land concession (ELC) review process transparent and prioritise systematic land registration for poor communities.
Soveth said more than 1,000 people involved in disputes had been arrested since 2007, many as a result of the government cracking down on protests against ELCs.
“Often the court sentences these people without properly investigating.”
Chhith Sam Ath, executive director of NGO Forum, said it was essential that disputes were resolved and villagers’ rights protected.
“Currently, landlessness is estimated at between 20 and 25 per cent of the total population.”
Phay Siphan, a spokesman for the Council of Ministers, said the government was doing a lot to help residents with land issues, including deploying students to demarcate land and issue land titles.
“This is a historic strategy, one that is very important for Cambodia,” he said.
To contact the reporter on this story: May Titthara at titthara.may@phnompenhpost.com
Shane Worrell at shane.worrell@phnompenhpost.com
Time to invest in people (Cambodia)
- Last Updated on 07 December 2012
- By Pamela Cox
For more than a decade, Cambodia has sustained impressive economic growth.
The World Bank expects real gross domestic product to increase by 6.6 per cent this year – a figure to be envied in today’s fragile global economy.
At this pace, Cambodia can rapidly become the industrialised and productive economy it aspires to be.
Is this the future that Cambodians can rightfully look forward to?
The answer is yes, but only if Cambodia invests in its most precious resource – its people – to enable each individual to realise his or her potential and productively contribute to the nation’s economy.
Until now, much of Cambodia’s investment has focused on infrastructure, agriculture and manufacturing – priority areas during the early stages of the country’s economic development.
But with economic progress, it has become increasingly clear that these efforts are not enough to help the country achieve equitable, sustainable growth and, most important, reduce poverty.
Today, despite the nation’s economic achievements, roughly 20 per cent of Cambodians – that’s 2.8 million people – are still poor.
Nearly 40 per cent of children under the age of five suffer from malnutrition, and 28 per cent in the same age group are underweight.
Over the past decade, workforce skills of adults improved at a slower rate than in other East Asia countries, and the proportion of skilled workers among earners stagnated.
When the economy is booming, it’s tempting to turn a blind eye to such statistics.
But for the sake of Cambodia’s future, these are the figures we must confront, and this is where the World Bank can help.
Ending poverty, and building shared prosperity, are central to the Bank’s mission.
Investments in human development, particularly in the areas of health and education, need to be a priority in Cambodia to create opportunities for all, especially the poor and vulnerable.
Interventions in these areas work hand in hand to build a country’s human-resources pool even before schooling begins.
Growing evidence shows the importance of adequate nutrition and health care during early childhood, to lay the foundation for intellectual progress and life-long learning.
The government has taken significant steps towards improving access as well as the quality of education, and 96 per cent of children aged six to 11 now go to primary school.
The average test performance of primary- and secondary-school students has improved, and higher-education enrolments increased fourfold between 2001 and 2011.
The World Bank is supporting health and education in Cambodia.
With the government and our development partners, we are financing health equity funds and school scholarships, having provided 2.5 million health-care treatments for poor people since 2009 and scholarships for 63,000 poor secondary-school students since 2005.
But much more needs to be done to improve the coverage, quality and governance of these sectors.
Although Cambodia’s economy is growing, employers report a mismatch between the skills university graduates bring to a job and the skills the labour market demands.
A recent World Bank study found that 22 per cent of foreign employers in Cambodia identify skills as a severe constraint to businesses.
This means many Cambodians earn less than they could if they had adequate education and skills.
For the country, this leads to lower productivity, limiting Cambodia’s potential to attract investment and improve living standards for all.
As a global knowledge and financial institution, the World Bank works with governments and a broad array of stakeholders gathering best practices and providing solutions for the most difficult development issues countries and communities face.
It draws from the knowledge and experience of other nations, and is able and ready to assist, inspire and inform Cambodia’s efforts to achieve its development goals.
In Indonesia, for example, the World Bank supported a social assistance program designed to address three lagging Millennium Development Goals – maternal health, child health and universal education – using a successful, community-driven approach.
Communities themselves took charge and allocated block grants targeting 12 health and education indicators, enabling 1.6 million women and children to receive nutrition counselling and support; helping 365,000 children receive immunisations; eliminating 185,000 cases of underweight children; and providing assistance to about 380,000 poor school students.
Tajikistan also has a high percentage of underweight children resulting from malnutrition exacerbated by the 2008 food-price shock.
The World Bank supported a community and basic health project to provide food packages and micro-nutrient supplements to about 50,000 women, infants and children.
By mid-2011, the project had trained 1,000 primary health workers and 300 community volunteers to deliver education on breast-feeding, good nutrition and the care of sick children.
Delivering these results requires a tremendous, co-ordinated effort by governments, donors, the private sector, civil society and others.
During my visit to Phnom Penh this week, I discussed with the government and our development partners how the World Bank can support Cambodia’s development strategy, to ensure all Cambodians can participate in, and benefit from, their country’s future prosperity.
Pamela Cox is the World Bank vice-president for East Asia and the Pacific.
Tuesday, 15 January 2013
Xayaburi Dam: How Laos Violated the 1995 Mekong Agreement
Sun, 01/13/2013 - 8:45pm
By: Kirk Herbertson
On November 7, 2012, Laos officially began construction
on the controversial Xayaburi Hydropower Project, the first mainstream
dam proposed for the Lower Mekong River. The process has not gone
smoothly. Construction activities began almost two years before the
official announcement. Vietnam and Cambodia called for a delay in
construction because concerns over the dam’s transboundary impacts
remained unresolved. Laos never conducted a comprehensive analysis of
the transboundary impacts, instead insisting that the dam was engineered
to be environmentally sustainable. The Mekong River Commission’s (MRC)
Secretariat disagreed with many of Laos’ claims, but its advice went
unheeded. Although the dam is going forward, its risks remain unknown.
The Xayaburi Dam was the first significant test for the Mekong Agreement, a treaty signed in 1995 by Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. The treaty is intended to promote shared use and management of the river basin. Instead of cooperating with neighboring governments, however, Laos began implementing the Xayaburi Dam while Cambodia and Vietnam voiced concerns about the project’s transboundary impacts. Thailand remained silent through much of the dispute, but quietly financed the project and agreed to purchase its electricity. By November 2012, Laos’ and Thailand’s implementation of the project had advanced so far that Cambodia and Vietnam had little leverage left to raise concerns.
Laos insists that the Xayaburi Dam complies with the 1995 Mekong Agreement. Few others have questioned this claim.
In a new report, we examine the requirements of the Mekong Agreement in closer detail. On its surface, the text of the Agreement is often ambiguous. In an effort to seek greater clarity, we examine the requirements of the Mekong Agreement in its entirety. We also examine: (i) the historical record of the negotiations that describes what the parties intended when they drafted the Agreement; and (ii) international law that describes the meaning of the words that were carefully placed in the Agreement. In doing so, a clearer picture of the Mekong Agreement emerges. We find that Laos has misinterpreted the Mekong Agreement and failed to comply with several of its key requirements.
The full report is available below, but key findings are summarized here.
The Xayaburi Dam has set a dangerous precedent that could undermine future cooperation. In 2013, work might advance on two other Mekong mainstream dams—the Don Sahong and the Pak Beng Dams. Unless reforms are made quickly, disagreements over the Mekong dams could escalate into a conflict with serious economic and political implications.
The Xayaburi Dam was the first significant test for the Mekong Agreement, a treaty signed in 1995 by Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam. The treaty is intended to promote shared use and management of the river basin. Instead of cooperating with neighboring governments, however, Laos began implementing the Xayaburi Dam while Cambodia and Vietnam voiced concerns about the project’s transboundary impacts. Thailand remained silent through much of the dispute, but quietly financed the project and agreed to purchase its electricity. By November 2012, Laos’ and Thailand’s implementation of the project had advanced so far that Cambodia and Vietnam had little leverage left to raise concerns.
Laos insists that the Xayaburi Dam complies with the 1995 Mekong Agreement. Few others have questioned this claim.
In a new report, we examine the requirements of the Mekong Agreement in closer detail. On its surface, the text of the Agreement is often ambiguous. In an effort to seek greater clarity, we examine the requirements of the Mekong Agreement in its entirety. We also examine: (i) the historical record of the negotiations that describes what the parties intended when they drafted the Agreement; and (ii) international law that describes the meaning of the words that were carefully placed in the Agreement. In doing so, a clearer picture of the Mekong Agreement emerges. We find that Laos has misinterpreted the Mekong Agreement and failed to comply with several of its key requirements.
The full report is available below, but key findings are summarized here.
Laos is required to seek agreement with its neighbors before beginning the project.
To balance the rights of upstream and downstream countries, the Mekong Agreement requires all four governments to make a “good faith” effort to reach agreement on whether a project goes forward. Instead of trying to reach agreement on the Xayaburi Dam, Laos claimed that it only must consider comments of the other governments. Laos made no efforts to compromise on its position or to reach a mutually agreeable solution.Laos must provide other governments with opportunity to evaluate the project’s impacts.
The MRC’s “prior consultation” is the process where the four governments try to reach an agreement. The primary purpose of the prior consultation is to provide the governments with an opportunity to evaluate the project’s transboundary impacts. Yet for the Xayaburi Dam, Laos did not provide neighboring governments with an opportunity to evaluate the project’s transboundary impacts. In particular, Laos did not assess the transboundary impacts before starting the prior consultation in September 2010.Laos is not permitted to implement the project while consultations are still underway.
International law and the Mekong Agreement prohibit the governments from implementing a project while the governments are still discussing it—this is part of the obligation to negotiate “in good faith.” Laos and developer Ch. Karnchang began implementing the Xayaburi Dam in late 2010 before the Mekong governments even met to discuss the project. Later, Laos incorrectly claimed that “preparatory work” was allowed under the Mekong Agreement while the consultations are underway.Laos is required to study the project’s transboundary impacts before consultation can take place.
Under international law, governments are required to prevent significant harm to other countries, which includes setting aside enough time to assess the project’s transboundary impacts. After failing to assess the Xayaburi Dam's transboundary impacts in 2010, Laos refused to delay project implementation after Cambodia and Vietnam requested these studies during the prior consultation. Instead, Laos claimed that untested technologies proposed by consulting company Pöyry were sufficient to mitigate any harm.Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand have a right to extend the prior consultation’s timeframe.
The default timeframe for the prior consultation is six months, but under international law the downstream governments have a right to extend it. Laos claims that the Xayaburi Dam's prior consultation ended automatically after six months. During this initial six month period, Laos failed to provide the information that other governments needed to evaluate the project’s impacts. This undermined the primary purpose of the prior consultation. Laos also began project implementation during this initial period.Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam have a right to seek compensation for any harm caused.
Laos has an obligation under international law to stop the project immediately if it causes harm to neighboring countries. Downstream governments Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam can seek compensation for any harm that the dam causes. Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam will have difficulty seeking compensation, however, because there is insufficient baseline data at this time to measure how the Xayaburi Dam will change the Mekong River. All three countries now face the difficult task of closely monitoring the impacts caused by the dam.The Xayaburi Dam has set a dangerous precedent that could undermine future cooperation. In 2013, work might advance on two other Mekong mainstream dams—the Don Sahong and the Pak Beng Dams. Unless reforms are made quickly, disagreements over the Mekong dams could escalate into a conflict with serious economic and political implications.
Cambodian economy expected to grow 7 pct in 2013: official
Xinhua | 2013-1-14 13:02:20
By Agencies
By Agencies
Cambodia's GDP is
projected to grow by 7 percent this year even though the global economy
remains fragile and high risk due to persisting sovereign debt crisis in
Europe and sluggish economic recovery in the United States, a commerce
official said Monday.
"Through Cambodian government's deep reforms, Cambodia's economic growth has rapidly recovered from the global economic crisis and it has maintained annual growth of 7 percent last year and the same rate is expected this year," Ou Proum Virak, deputy director of the Commerce Ministry's Trade Promotion Department, said in a trade seminar.
He said the growth would come mainly from garment exports, tourism, agriculture and construction.
Meanwhile, he said global economy at the end of 2012 and in 2013 still faces high risks amid lingering sovereign debt issue in Europe and slow recovery of the US economy.
"These could be challenges for Cambodia either to increase external businesses or to attract foreign investment," he said.
Last Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted that Cambodia is expected to register an economic growth rate of 6. 7 percent this year.
"A fragile global economic outlook, rapid credit growth, and potentially extreme weather conditions continue to pose significant risks," the IMF cautioned in the annual review of Cambodia's economic and financial conditions.
"Through Cambodian government's deep reforms, Cambodia's economic growth has rapidly recovered from the global economic crisis and it has maintained annual growth of 7 percent last year and the same rate is expected this year," Ou Proum Virak, deputy director of the Commerce Ministry's Trade Promotion Department, said in a trade seminar.
He said the growth would come mainly from garment exports, tourism, agriculture and construction.
Meanwhile, he said global economy at the end of 2012 and in 2013 still faces high risks amid lingering sovereign debt issue in Europe and slow recovery of the US economy.
"These could be challenges for Cambodia either to increase external businesses or to attract foreign investment," he said.
Last Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted that Cambodia is expected to register an economic growth rate of 6. 7 percent this year.
"A fragile global economic outlook, rapid credit growth, and potentially extreme weather conditions continue to pose significant risks," the IMF cautioned in the annual review of Cambodia's economic and financial conditions.
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