My program manager and others from the VSO Country Office in
Cambodia are coming for a placement visit this week and I am preparing by
putting together action plans for the next year. However, I still have
to do a survey so that the District government can tell me what they
want to do. What I have observed (and been asked to contribute by the governor
and the NCDD staff) so far is that it's the 'technical' stuff that they are interested
in - administrative tasks such as writing documents, putting together proposals. etc., in Khmer. This is all
fine and good and I do see several ways in which I could be useful, but this is
barely scratching the surface of good governance advising, in my opinion.
So, how can I ensure that they are also interested in leadership
and accountability? It's such an intangible thing, these two topics. Which I
suppose is why it's not something on the mind of the leaders in government here,
and also why some rigorous Monitoring and Evaluation needs to be part of the
agenda. The capacity for M&E, to 'criticize' leaders and hold them account,
is something I fear is too far outside the box for Cambodians. At NCDD, one of
their goals is to
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| Hierarchy much? Council of Ministers building, Phnom Penh |
ensure there is proper accountability, and in my opinion this can only happen with positive leadership. The government hierarchy relies so much on the leadership, but not so much on the accountability. It also restricts the job of the District Councillors that I will be closely working with as openly questioning or being critical of those in a position higher than you is not acceptable on a continuing basis. And this doesn't even touch on the gender mainstreaming that is part of the agenda ... a whole other can of worms to be sure!
After meeting with some NCDD folks yesterday, I know that
people perceive my main role to be injecting their budgets with some much
needed funds, and running workshops. I understand that fits of the needs of
some, such as the NCDD who want me to help complete their required workshops
for the year for which they have no funding, but I really feel the language
barrier is blocking my attempts to work side by side on a day to day basis with
staff at the District. This role modelling can contribute more than a handful
of workshops, but writing documents in Khmer seems to be the main role of the
people in the office, so I have little to contribute. Conversationally, I have
been working on my Khmer by myself but need to get lessons started...after I
return from being away for 2 weeks. Everything takes such a long time!
Admittedly, I am happy to be in Phnom Penh for one week to
attend a few meetings; it's nice to change pace. (Hopefully the demonstrations in
the capital will continue to be peaceful and there will not be a repeat of Sunday
night.) And I am quite happy to take a few extra days off over the Pchum Ben ('Ancestors Day') holiday
to go to Koh Rong (recently corporately
acquired to turn into an ecoresort) to enjoy the island before the
corporatization sets in. Maybe I'll do some work while laying on the white
sandy beach? Who will make me accountable? ;)
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| Gorgeous Koh Rong |
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