Cambodia Anti-Corruption Coordinated Action Program (ACCAP)

September 2004 - December 31, 2006

Cambodia's current leadership embraces a hybrid system of predatory market economics and authoritarian control, resulting in an absence of accountable institutions, a pervasive culture of corruption, and wide-spread poverty. "Survival corruption" is common among underpaid civil servants, while large-scale corruption is a source of wealth for the politically powerful.

Scarce financial resources and an ineffectual bureaucracy aggravate the situation. High levels of collusion between the state and the private sector distort the legal and regulatory framework, the judiciary is weak, and rule-of-law is largely non-existent. Donor demands for reform are poorly coordinated and largely ignored.

In the words of the World Bank, Cambodia is a place where "economic power is highly concentrated, countervailing social interests are weak, and the formal channels of political influence and interest intermediation are underdeveloped." With funding from USIAD through PADCO, Pact has been actively addressing anticorruption issues in Cambodia.

Pact's approach

In Cambodia institutionalized incentives, networks and relationships maintain a stranglehold on the country's resources. Reducing corruption means breaking vested interests' control over policy and institutional reform. From an analysis of the Cambodian political, social and economic environment, Pact has identified two strategic entry points:

• Increasing the cost of corruption to public officials by building credible constituencies for accountability and reform.
• Decreasing the pool of state resources subject to capture by exerting pressure in areas such as price and trade liberalization, transparency in the ownership structure of enterprises, and lower barriers to market entry, in alliance with business associations and multi-lateral lenders.

The program's primary objectives are:

• To strengthen the ability of citizens and civil society organizations to hold public officials accountable for the use of public resources.
• To build capacity of small- to medium-sized enterprise associations to advocate for fair access to state-controlled economic resources and opportunities

This program will be locally owned and led by a multi-sectoral Stakeholders Working Group, with close and targeted mentoring and management by Pact, ensuring that Cambodians in leadership positions have the internal motivation to pursue reform and the capacity to continue with or without donor assistance.

Interim results

• ACCAP established the Anti-Corruption Stakeholder Working Group (ACSWG), which representing private sector, donor, academia, media, religion (Buddhist cleric), legal profession, government, youth, NGO, and international organization. Working closely with each member of the ACSWG, ACCAP developed an anti-corruption stakeholder analysis for each of the sectors and defined the strategic entry points for anti-corruption sub-grant investments. ACCAP facilitated 10 meetings of the ASWG, which has become a cohesive unit that provides valuable advice and input on the direction of the ACCAP program. The ASWG also has played an important role in the launching of the "Clean Hand" social marketing campaign by providing important feedback on the design and content of the sticker and by distributing stickers and the book "Fighting Corruption in Cambodia" to colleagues and beneficiaries.
• ACCAP produced a comparative legal analysis highlighting the differences between the existing draft anti-corruption law and international standards.
• After mobilizing legislation experts, Pact has been liaising with the Ministry of National Assembly-Senate Relations and Inspection (MoNASRI), which has been authorized by the Royal Government of Cambodia to re-draft the law on anti-corruption. In what is seen as unusual cooperation between the government and civil society, in terms of legislative drafting, and thanks to strong coordination role played by Pact, two senior members of civil society were allowed by the government's ACL working group to participate in the drafting process.
• The Informal Donor Working Group representing multi-lateral agencies (World Bank, Asia Development Bank, UNDP, UN Office for the High Commission on Human Rights, UN Office of Drugs and Crime, IMF) and bi-lateral donors (USAID, JICA, AusAID, DANIDA, CIDA, AFD) met 10 times and produced two Joint Talking Point papers that were delivered to the government at two donor meetings. ACCAP's efforts at information sharing and coordination have resulted in a strong draft law on Anti-corruption.
• Pact conducted an assessment on the National Audit Authority (NAA). The assessment aimed at better understanding the NAA's ability to conduct financial and program audits and to identify strategic entry points that could increase the NAA's capacity in fighting corruption in Cambodia.
• ACCAP's sub-grant component has resulted in the formation of a coalition of civil society organizations who know and understand best practices in anti-corruption legislation and are able to provide informed feedback and comment to the drafting team of the Cambodian law on anti-corruption. The members of the coalition have met 6 times and provided comments to the government on two occasions. ACCAP has awarded 7 sub-grants to Cambodian civil society organizations.
• A separate Freedom of Information group has been formed and has organized a Workshop on International Best Practices and Standards of Freedom of Information. The Freedom of Information Working Group is finalizing a three part strategy — media/education, drafting and advocacy — with the aim of obtaining free access to information for the public of Cambodia. The group will work towards having a Freedom of Information Law that meets international standards adopted and implemented in 2006.
• A total of 24 journalists received basic investigative journalism training. Twelve were chosen to continue and receive training in legal environment for the media and advanced investigative reporting techniques. Although the actual number of articles decreased, the overall quantity of reporting increased.