PM: E-Services Stop Corruption

KHMER TIMES
MAY KUNMAKARA

Cambodian army personnel now have their salaries deposited directly into their bank accounts. This is to prevent commanders cashing in on 'ghost soldiers' on government payrolls. Reuters/Chor Sokunthea

Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday recognized the dual role of digitalized public services in preventing corruption in government ministries and state-owned agencies, and attracting foreign investment to the Kingdom.

Speaking at the first-ever forum on the protection and conservation of natural resources, Mr. Hun Sen said the digitalization of public services enabled the government to improve its tax collection as “taxpayers did not have to meet tax collectors face to face”, and this avoided bribes being paid.

“We have been using digitalized payment systems to fight corruption. Citizens can make their tax payments through banks or use a mobile money transfer company, like Wing, to send the money to the General Department of Taxation. They no longer have to meet physically with unscrupulous tax collectors who demand bribes,” Mr. Hun Sen told the forum’s audience that included foreign donors and ambassadors.

Mr. Hun Sen said the government’s system of paying monthly salaries had also been digitalized and this “got rid of ghost employees” on the payrolls of certain government departments and the armed forces.

“The ghost cannot hold a bank account, let alone withdraw money from the bank. We have destroyed those ghosts by digitalizing salary payments. All actual government employees now must have a bank account to withdraw their salaries,” he said.

According to data from the General Department of the National Treasury released at the end of last year, 99.45 percent of government employees, or 400,000 people, now have their salaries paid into their bank accounts. More than 76 percent of the armed forces have their salaries directly deposited in a bank account.

The prime minister also spoke of the government’s user-based one-stop digital public service that sought to improve the productivity and efficiency of government departments to attract foreign investment to the country.

“With our one-stop service, you can register your business online and even get a driving license electronically. We have made, previously complicated issues into now simple procedures. Everything is electronic and investors want to invest in Cambodia because it is now so easy,” said Mr. Hun Sen.

In Channy, president of Acleda Bank, one of the largest and local-owned banks in Cambodia, welcomed the government’s collaboration with banks and financial institutions in enabling customers to make online payments to government departments and also to receive their monthly salaries.

“Of course we do appreciate that. It makes things so much easier and faster and no one complains about their salary being late,” he said.
“Also the use of electronic payments is more convenient and eliminates the paying of unnecessary bank fees,” added Mr. Channy.

While steps have been taken to reform public services and make them more accessible and user-friendly, the anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International said more needed to be done.

Preap Kol, executive director of Transparency International, said while there had been some progress in digitalizing services offered by the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, other government ministries were still lagging far behind.

“There is no consistency across the whole administration yet. Very few ministries seem to be making progress in digitalized services ‒ either moving very slowly or not moving at all,” said Mr. Kol.