New Program Advances Government Accountability and Transparency in Cambodia

With only three classrooms and two teachers, a local school in the Pakleae community in the Roluos Meanchey commune in northwest Cambodia faced severe overcrowding. Already beyond capacity, the school was unable to handle the increasing number of students coming through its doors.

A resident complained to her local elected officials and leaders at a town hall event organized by NDI. Shortly afterward, the provincial Education Department sent two new teachers to the Roluos secondary school, as well as one more teacher to the Pakleae primary school.

Until recently, interactions like this between citizens and their elected representatives were rare. Cambodians often did not have a platform where they could raise basic issues that affected their daily lives. While individual legislators made efforts to meet with constituents, many faced time constraints and sometimes were unable to secure places to meet.

NDI Senior Program Assistant Ros Sinak (seated at top right) explains how to complete report forms during a meeting with citizen network members in Khsuem commune, Kratie province.

But the example of the overcrowded school marks a significant change with the launch of a new Engaged Citizens Network project organized by NDI.

Created in 2014, the citizen network project stems from NDI’s decade-long constituency dialogue program, through which grassroots activists organize town hall events that bring citizens in direct contact with government officials. These events have helped elected representatives improve their understanding of community needs and also demonstrate to citizens how local leaders can help tackle their issues.

As part of the project, local watchdog and community groups monitor progress on constituent issues raised during town hall events. Specifically, citizen network members host public meetings where citizens raise complaints and issues affecting their community, which citizen network members then bring to the attention of elected representatives and local leaders, and monitor government responses.

"Since the network project became active, the local authorities have begun to pay more attention to the concerns of the people, because we are lifting up the voice of the people,” said a citizen network member from the Kompong Tralach commune in Kompong Chhnang province. “People ask us to bring issues to the commune council, which is something that never took place previously."

Network monitoring efforts have yielded several examples of community issues that were resolved with the help of elected leaders and government officials.

A “citizen network” member leads a community meeting in Thmey Commune, Kratie province.

In Kampong Tralach, a resident complained about illegal fishing tools being used to fish in community ponds. The tools, such as nets with holes small enough to catch baby fish and electric rods, are largely responsible for a recent decline in the local fish population. The district fishery department cracked down by confiscating the illegal tools, fining perpetrators and educating them on illegal versus legal fishing methods.

In Thmey, a resident raised concerns about the high number of domestic violence cases. The Department of Women Affairs addressed this by organizing educational classes for families that stressed the harmful effects of domestic violence. Community members reported a decrease in in domestic violence cases following the department’s intervention.

In total, eight issues raised at town hall events have been resolved with help from local government officials. NDI also provided financial and technical support to network members throughout the year.

"I became a citizen network member because the local authorities rarely used to listen to people's concerns and would not respond to requests made by citizens,” said a network member from the Koh Thkov commune in the Kompong Chhnang province. “Since the network project was established in our commune, the local authorities seem to be working more effectively to respond to the concerns of commune members."

Network and community members in Kampong Tralach commune, Kampong Chhnang province, participate in an awareness campaign for environmental protection and fish conservation organized in front of the commune office on Jan. 30.

Citizen network participants are also recruiting“sub-network” members who work independent of NDI and help network members follow up with local authorities to hold them accountable to address community issues. The shift of ownership to the local level is considered critical to sustaining the program once the project ends in September.

Looking ahead, NDI will continue to support network members as they train more citizens and expand their efforts to other regions of Cambodia. Network members are already partnering with like-minded activists to promote government accountability and transparency. In July, NDI will host training sessions in larger areas to teach newly-recruited members how to organize public campaigns centered around local issues and encourage their neighbors to get involved in the democratic process. The goal in the next year is for citizen network members to act as local watchdogs within their communities independent of NDI.