NGOs ready a slew of graft complaints

Chheng Sophoan, 23, Banking student

“I think that it is hopeless because corruption is a very big problem. We must cooperate. We must especially take action at the top first. If the leaders are not corrupt, the lower officials will also not be corrupt. I think only about 30 percent of corruption can be eliminated successfully because the rule of law in Cambodia is not as strong as in other countries.”

Vong Vanna, 22, Student of Khmer literature

“I think that they created this law and it can be effective. Cambodia has a lot of corruption, so sometimes the law might be effective, but corruption cannot be totally eliminated. I have only a 75 percent belief this will work because the corruption takes place in secret.”

Pich Chea, 45, Tuk-tuk driver

“If leaders have the will to eliminate corruption they can do it, but if they don’t have the will, they won’t be able to. For example, traffic police often levy fines over the legal limits of the traffic law. This is one example of corruption.”

Thursday, 02 September 2010
Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

THE Kingdom’s newly formed Anticorruption Unit potentially faces a busy start, as two local organisations are preparing to file more than 50 corruption complaints to the body this month.

A group of 14 ACU officials were sworn in Tuesday during a ceremony at the Appeal Court.

During the ceremony, the officials took an oath stating that they were willing to face death by lightning strikes and car accidents, and suffer other grisly fates if they failed to faithfully discharge their duties.

Local NGO representatives said yesterday that they had filed or were preparing to file complaints ranging from allegations of widespread illegal logging to irregularities in the collection of traffic fines.
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