Transparency International in Cambodia (TI Cambodia), an international non-governmental organization, issued a press release on Tuesday stating that Judiciary, Police and Government Officials could be considered as the most corrupt in the country.
However, on the positive side, TI Cambodia added that the corruption, in term of bribery paid to public servants, has been decreasing. For example, between 2013 and 2016, the bribery paid for making ID documents and civil registry dropped from 62 per cent to 30 per cent; the bribery for hospital dropped from 38 percent to 19 per cent; and the bribery to police dropped from 60 per cent to 11 per cent.
TI Cambodia also said that many Cambodian people interviewed by TI Cambodia still think that public servants are abusing their powers by doing corrupt practice instead of protecting and providing social justice to Cambodian people.
TI Cambodia added that many Cambodians still believe that ordinary people can make a difference by reporting corruption case to the authorities concerned.
Regarding anti-corruption measures laid out by the government, TI Cambodia said not many people believe they could be effective.
"Only 35 per cent of the people interviewed believed the government’s anti-corruption initiatives are effective," read the press release.
To tackle corruption issues, TI Cambodia called upon the Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) to reform its institutional structure by reforming the judiciary and law enforcement agencies, and by passing Access to Information Law and the Law on the Protection of Whistleblowers, in accordance with international standards.
“When the general public confirms that corruption is widespread, the state machinery ought to take it seriously and respond timely by undertaking fundamental reforms proposed by the anti-corruption experts,” said Preap Kol, Executive Director of TI Cambodia.
Relating to this issue, many anti-corruption experts said that corruption issue needs to be tackled from the bottom-up. As a result, it is the role of local governments to talk with their citizens in order to find effective solutions regarding the issue.
"Anticorruption policies require a bottom-up approach that appreciates the current landscape, as well as the opportunities for corruption. They need to be able to access citizens directly, as only local governments have the capacity to do on a daily basis," wrote anti-corruption experts on "Devex" website.
With the same intention, at the beginning of February, the RGC issued a sub-decree ordering the creation of the "Office of the Ombudsman" at sub-national level nationwide.
According to the sub-decree, the new office will be responsible for investigating and addressing complaints of maladministration of local government officials, especially complaints about graft and corruption.
The letter added that the Office of the Ombudsman has the obligation to give feedback to complainers and to publicly publish the outcome regarding complaints. The Office of the Ombudsman will be divided in two departments - one department will be in charge of addressing complaints and administrative work, the other will be in charge of investigation.
On the other hand, on February 8, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Cambodia, launched a series of public forums known as "My Open Commune" that is also aiming to strengthen good governance, transparency, and accountability as well as corruption issues at sub-national level.
According to Madame Polly Dunford, USAID Cambodia Mission Director, the forums could help villagers to establish open dialogues with their local government in order to echo their voice concerning their daily lives.
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