CAMBODIA
Public Servants in Cambodia are to receive World Bank funding aimed at boosting social accountability.
The Bank’s Country Manager for Cambodia, Inguna Dobraja (pictured) said that while access to public services in Cambodia had improved considerably in recent years, quality continued to be a challenge.
She said US$5.95 million ($A10 million) had been granted to World Vision International for social accountability activities, including mobilising community facilitators to inform citizens of the services they were entitled to and the use of public funds.
“A total of US$1.72 million ($A2.8 million) has been granted to the National Committee for Subnational Democratic Development Secretariat to help strengthen the ability of Government service providers to provide information to the public about their performance and use of funds, and to better respond to citizen feedback,” Ms Dobraja said.
“The World Bank recognises the Government’s Social Accountability Framework as a significant effort to complement investments in education, health, water and other services.”
She said both grants were intended to support implementation of the second phase of the Social Accountability Framework, which continued until 2023.
“The framework is an integral part of the Government’s decentralisation reform program, which aims to strengthen the responsiveness of the Government to citizen needs,” Ms Dobraja said.
The grants are administered by the World Bank and financed by the Cambodia Social Accountability and Service Delivery Trust Fund, which is supported by the Governments of Germany and Switzerland.
Phnom Penh, 22 March 2020
