Decentralization and Local Development Local Development Forum 2010 and Launch of the Local Development Outlook on Cambodia

Thursday, July 01, 2010

1 July 2010, Intercontinental Hotel, Phnom Penh

Keynote Speech

H.E. Sak Setha
Secretary of State, Ministry of Interior
Head of the NCDD Secretariat 


Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates from our donor partners,
Honored Ladies and Gentlemen:
 
I would like to pay my respects to all of you at this important event for the Launch of the LOCAL DEVELOPMENT OUTLOOK on Cambodia. I would also like to give special recognition to UNCDF and UNDP for promoting this event to include representatives from Sub-National authorities, Private Sector, NGO and civil society.

Today we gather to address an important dimension of the vast D&D reform that is currently underway in Cambodia and, that is Local Development. Today’s Forum is critically timed as we need partnerships in implementing the reform.  The publication - LOCAL DEVELOPMENT OUTLOOK - helps us to think strategically about these partnerships.  But more so, how these partnerships can be the cornerstone to promote local development.

As the Head of the NCDD Secretariat, I am very pleased to announce that the National Program on Support to Sub-national Democratic Development was endorsed by the NCDDS and adopted by the Council of Ministers on 28th May.  It is our intention to organize an official Launch of the National Program.  This event will be presided over by the Prime Minister.

As we prepare the first three-year Implementation Plan (called IP3) of the National Program, it appears clearly that the reform is an enormous challenge for all of us. It will require “a whole of government approach”: this means that several key sub-programs within the IP3 will be led by different Ministries and Agencies.
 
But participation in the NP implementation will expand to other public and private entities. As the whole of government reform takes place; there will be need for local communities, with their elected councils, to create lasting partnerships with the private sector, NGOs and civil society to promote local development.  We have to keep in mind that for true “Sub-national Democratic Development” to evolve there will be a need to combine improved local governance and local development. This is one of the key outcomes we expect from the implementation of the National Program over the next 10-year period.

As the report - LOCAL DEVELOPMENT OUTLOOK - clearly states, Sub-National Authorities (SNAs) can play a key role in contributing to foster equitable, balanced development across the country. And this for at least two reasons:

First, SNAs have good knowledge about their own territories. They know what their territory needs and what is its potential for development. So SNAs are very well positioned to ‘adapt’ government actions to local circumstances and therefore increase the efficiency and effectiveness in the use of public resources. They can make sure that government provides the right combination of services where they are needed. 

Second, local communities can mobilize additional resources for local development through engagement with the private sector, NGOs and civil society. This is why it is so important to speak about governance and not only government. Improved local governance means that public and private actors can work together and pool resources to meet National objectives.

So, there are clear reasons to envisage SNAs as promoters of local development. But for this to take place there will be need for strong sub-national administrations with knowledge and skills to plan strategically and use effectively all available resources. This requires strong support from the National level, the design of adequate planning and finance systems and a degree of autonomy that will allow a community to identify and consider its own economic strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, and agree on a shared strategy with local partners.   

As pointed out in the LOCAL DEVELOPMENT OUTLOOK, Sub-National Authorities can provide key contributions to local development in different areas: they can foster economic diversification in rural areas, they can foster  efficient urban management and planning – so important for a country which is undergoing urbanization – and they can make sure that local development opportunities are realized in cross-border areas. As the report well explains, they can also play a key role in integrating climate change resilience with local development strategies. Another good example of how SNAs can help deliver on important National objectives and help foster sustainable local development across Cambodia.  

Ladies and Gentlemen, as Head of the NCDDS, I note with great pleasure that both speakers and audience of this Local Development Forum include representatives from different sectors of our society. This is perfectly in line with the approach of our National Programme for Sub-National Democratic Development: different actors working together, at different levels, to meet the needs of Cambodians, wherever they are, and to make sure Cambodia’s development potential is realized and shared by all.

UNCDF’s report -- the Local Development Outlook -- goes a long way to provide us with analysis and suggestions to foster local development. I look forward for all of us to have a very fruitful discussion on this topic today and to take action – together - in the years to come.

Thank you.