Poverty reduction in Cambodia is an achievable goal. It is with hope and promise that NGOs reaffirm their commitment to the Cambodian people as they work to rebuild their lives, their communities and their nation.
As Cambodia enters a new era of peace and stability the context for development has moved from the need for emergency relief to support for institutional development and policy reform. This emphasis on institutional development and policy reform can at times divert attention away from the very people whose lives we seek to improve.
The reality of poverty cannot be measured in statistical surveys. An appreciation of what poverty actually means is often obscured at the level where decision making takes place. The poor are real people; people who too often feel frightened, hungry, powerless and vulnerable. People are being stripped of their land and their livelihood, offered next to nothing in terms of opportunities to improve themselves, and denied access to forestry and fishery resources, by indiscriminate and powerful lobbies. NGOs ask both donors and the government to orient their goals towards directly relieving suffering and enlarging the choices that people have to better their own lives.
The best development assistance and advice will not be effective in reducing poverty unless the participation of people in the development and design of projects is assured. Donor support for the government in the form of strengthening institutions, and promoting respect for the rule of law needs to occur by encouraging community empowerment through participatory processes.
NGOs affirm the Cambodia Human Development Report 1999's statement that for true development to take place in villages, the ultimate stakeholders (communities, villages and villagers) should be fully involved in the process of their economic development and should, indeed, take on a larger advocacy role with respect to central and provincial government, international donors, and the private sector.
NGOs support the government's commitment to engage with civil society as part of the partnership for poverty reduction and the promotion of good governance. This necessitates greater public access to information at the provincial, district and village level. People can not effectively influence development outcomes unless they are informed, and have confidence that there are real opportunities for them to be heard and impact upon the decision making processes that will affect the quality of their own lives. |