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| Royal Arms of Cambodia |
Last week I attended a meeting with the District Council. A majority of the Councillors attended but noticeably absent were the Director and the lone female Councillor. This special meeting was arranged by the NCDD (the National Committee for Sub-National Democratic Development) Facilitator who is responsible for development the capacity of 4 districts in Kratie province. Since I am only working with Chet Borei District he is eager for me to help him out. I plan to have him facilitate some sessions for me so hopefully it will be a mutually beneficial arrangement!
The meeting was intended to bring together the Councillors to discuss the problems with their work. This is the fourth meeting of its kind and the Councillors were frustrated; they had already submitted their complaints at the last three meetings and nothing had been done to work on the solution. The main issue was communication problems between them, the District staff and the Commune Chiefs. The NCDD Facilitator pressed the Council to apply the guidelines that were provided by the Royal Government of Cambodia. He assured them that, if they did, their communication problems would go away.
By law, the District Council has representatives from all parties. They were nominated by Commune Chiefs to be their facilitators and liaisons to the District and even to the Provincial Governor if need be. However, this is a new structure, established in 2008, and not everyone is clear on the role of the Council. The District Council argued that the role of the District Council is not respected nor desired by anyone that they are legislated to work with. They effectively get shut out of meetings and receive no support. The multi-party representation may be to blame, as the ruling party typically only works with its own members. Opposition parties are looked down upon and have been called traitors. (Does this sound familiar to anyone else?)
Since the Council has, again and again, identified the communication issue as their main concern, why has this not been addressed? I haven't been able to assess the capacity of the District Councillors and really get to know where they are coming from. I am still a humble observer in the District, trying my best to absorb how interactions take place, who gets along with who, who is related to whom, and, most importantly, who really makes the decisions and holds the power in the District. Unravelling these details is not easy, especially when I only see many of the District representatives at meetings. Likewise, the Governor and Administration also only see the Council on a limited basis so surely their concern regarding communication isn't unfounded.
But why does no one care? And why doesn't the Council put forth some possible solutions to this problem? They are not being proactive, seem to lack leadership and the will to work together.
The lack of a building is still the paramount problem for the Council. If they see and get to know each other on a daily basis they are much more likely to be inclusive and move forward together. Poof! Communication problems solved by decreasing the physical distance. Short of raising ten grand to finish the District building by myself (which was suggested to me today. And he wasn't joking), I will have to work on the communications issues by seeking solutions from the District.
Hopefully, we can begin to turn the negative experience that the Council has had up to now to look for solutions. We can work outside of the limited framework that has been created to address the personal side, developing partnerships outside of government and working with the people directly. It's not within the mandate, but not outside of it either. The greatest gains can be made within those cracks and crevices.
The meeting was intended to bring together the Councillors to discuss the problems with their work. This is the fourth meeting of its kind and the Councillors were frustrated; they had already submitted their complaints at the last three meetings and nothing had been done to work on the solution. The main issue was communication problems between them, the District staff and the Commune Chiefs. The NCDD Facilitator pressed the Council to apply the guidelines that were provided by the Royal Government of Cambodia. He assured them that, if they did, their communication problems would go away.
By law, the District Council has representatives from all parties. They were nominated by Commune Chiefs to be their facilitators and liaisons to the District and even to the Provincial Governor if need be. However, this is a new structure, established in 2008, and not everyone is clear on the role of the Council. The District Council argued that the role of the District Council is not respected nor desired by anyone that they are legislated to work with. They effectively get shut out of meetings and receive no support. The multi-party representation may be to blame, as the ruling party typically only works with its own members. Opposition parties are looked down upon and have been called traitors. (Does this sound familiar to anyone else?)
Since the Council has, again and again, identified the communication issue as their main concern, why has this not been addressed? I haven't been able to assess the capacity of the District Councillors and really get to know where they are coming from. I am still a humble observer in the District, trying my best to absorb how interactions take place, who gets along with who, who is related to whom, and, most importantly, who really makes the decisions and holds the power in the District. Unravelling these details is not easy, especially when I only see many of the District representatives at meetings. Likewise, the Governor and Administration also only see the Council on a limited basis so surely their concern regarding communication isn't unfounded.
But why does no one care? And why doesn't the Council put forth some possible solutions to this problem? They are not being proactive, seem to lack leadership and the will to work together.
The lack of a building is still the paramount problem for the Council. If they see and get to know each other on a daily basis they are much more likely to be inclusive and move forward together. Poof! Communication problems solved by decreasing the physical distance. Short of raising ten grand to finish the District building by myself (which was suggested to me today. And he wasn't joking), I will have to work on the communications issues by seeking solutions from the District.
Hopefully, we can begin to turn the negative experience that the Council has had up to now to look for solutions. We can work outside of the limited framework that has been created to address the personal side, developing partnerships outside of government and working with the people directly. It's not within the mandate, but not outside of it either. The greatest gains can be made within those cracks and crevices.
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| Local Governance Advisor's Office in Stung Treng |
(On a related note, I visited another VSO Governance Advisor in Stung Treng province this past weekend, speaking with the Governor, members of his staff and the District Councillors. What a marked difference! They work in the same building and attended a workshop in a seemingly collegial fashion. I was jealous.)
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