An advisory provision conducted by the Provincial Association in Battambang Province (Photo: ©ACES Project)
On 24th February 2016, the general
secretary of the Associations of Sub-National Administration Councils
(ASAC-S) and the president of the National League of Local Councils
(NLC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with 12 presidents of
Provincial Associations of Municipal, District, Commune and Sangkats
Councils.
The MoU contains grants provision that will strengthen the PAs’ institutional capacity and further develop the coordinating mechanism with ASAC-S. This is a key component of the ACES project or the Associations of Councils Enhanced Services project funded and supported by UNDP and the European Union. The project is one of UNDP’s programmatic approaches to promoting citizen’s voice and participation, and in implementing the social accountability framework within different levels of government.
This new memorandum is grounded on the
successful implementation of funds granted in 2015 to the PAs of
Kampong Cham, Stoeng Treng, Siem Reap, Battambang, Kampot and Preah
Sihanouk. These six PAs have effectively managed grants to organize
district and provincial fora, as well as other capacity-building related
activities to improve member services.
District and provincial fora are NLC's key activities that promote councils’ democratic voice and provide mechanisms for problem solving and downward accountability. These fora are aimed at facilitating information-sharing and cooperation among local councilors, district and provincial officials and community leaders. Participants in these fora mainly address administrative, financial and planning concerns and challenges that currently face Cambodian local councilors.
As a result, the fora facilitated in resolving issues such as land disputes, illegal gambling and illegal fishing, among others. These also provided a platform for improving coordination among tiers of government to enhance services in areas like civil registration, and clarify commune and decentralization regulatory frameworks.
District and provincial fora are therefore instrumental in identifying and prioritizing councilors’ problems and needs at the grassroots level. The ASAC-S, in turn, use this information as a basis to enhance and promote services to sub-national councils through training, workshops or technical advice.
Additionally, these fora offer an effective means through which democratically elected councilors may exercise their oversight functions by holding to account executive officials at the commune, district and provincial levels.
Looking ahead, the district and provincial fora are very well positioned to significantly contribute to government efforts in promoting social accountability. If specialized capacity-building opportunities are provided to local councils, they could play a very relevant role as an interface between civil society organizations, citizens groups and state actors at the sub-national level.
To this end, the ASAC-S has recently engaged in constructive dialogue with NCDD-S to pave the way for a strong collaboration in implementing the Social Accountability Framework. A number of communes and sangkats have been selected to undertake a pilot initiative aimed at fostering citizen engagement with local councils.
Indeed, the district and provincial fora have a great potential to facilitate access to information to citizens on local policies and administrative procedures. These fora are also helpful in citizen monitoring to assess public service delivery and government performance while feeding inputs to the local planning process.
The MoU contains grants provision that will strengthen the PAs’ institutional capacity and further develop the coordinating mechanism with ASAC-S. This is a key component of the ACES project or the Associations of Councils Enhanced Services project funded and supported by UNDP and the European Union. The project is one of UNDP’s programmatic approaches to promoting citizen’s voice and participation, and in implementing the social accountability framework within different levels of government.
Highlights
- Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with 12 presidents of Provincial Associations of Municipal, District, Commune and Sangkats Councils was signed with ASAC-S's Secretary General and NLC's President.
District and provincial fora are NLC's key activities that promote councils’ democratic voice and provide mechanisms for problem solving and downward accountability. These fora are aimed at facilitating information-sharing and cooperation among local councilors, district and provincial officials and community leaders. Participants in these fora mainly address administrative, financial and planning concerns and challenges that currently face Cambodian local councilors.
As a result, the fora facilitated in resolving issues such as land disputes, illegal gambling and illegal fishing, among others. These also provided a platform for improving coordination among tiers of government to enhance services in areas like civil registration, and clarify commune and decentralization regulatory frameworks.
District and provincial fora are therefore instrumental in identifying and prioritizing councilors’ problems and needs at the grassroots level. The ASAC-S, in turn, use this information as a basis to enhance and promote services to sub-national councils through training, workshops or technical advice.
Additionally, these fora offer an effective means through which democratically elected councilors may exercise their oversight functions by holding to account executive officials at the commune, district and provincial levels.
Looking ahead, the district and provincial fora are very well positioned to significantly contribute to government efforts in promoting social accountability. If specialized capacity-building opportunities are provided to local councils, they could play a very relevant role as an interface between civil society organizations, citizens groups and state actors at the sub-national level.
To this end, the ASAC-S has recently engaged in constructive dialogue with NCDD-S to pave the way for a strong collaboration in implementing the Social Accountability Framework. A number of communes and sangkats have been selected to undertake a pilot initiative aimed at fostering citizen engagement with local councils.
Indeed, the district and provincial fora have a great potential to facilitate access to information to citizens on local policies and administrative procedures. These fora are also helpful in citizen monitoring to assess public service delivery and government performance while feeding inputs to the local planning process.
