The Girl-Child and Government Service Provision.pdf - Tanzania ...

In February 1999 the freeze on new international aid assistancewas lifted, and the IMF recommenced loans later thatyear. At the 2000 Consultative Group held in Paris, donorspledged US$548 million over three years. During the preceding18 months the government made progress on reformof the forestry sector and illegal logging; public-sectorreform; budget reform, including introduction of a 10per cent VAT; and has implemented a programme fordemobilisation. Cambodia was also formally admitted toASEAN in April 1999 and the Royal Government of Cambodia(RGC) ratified the Mine Ban Treaty in July 1999 afterpassing national land-mine legislation in May. At the recentConsultative Group meeting the government set an ambitiousagenda in the draft Governance Action Plan, whichincludes revision of the role and structure of the military,natural resource management, fiscal and budget reform,public-sector reform, legal and judiciary reform and anticorruptioninitiatives. Whilst the government has demonstratedthe ‘political will’ required for some changes, thereis concern that it lacks the political will and institutionalcapacity to carry out such an ambitious reform agenda. Thegovernment has committed itself to promoting democracy,to building civil society and to social and economic reform.However, the restoration of Cambodia’s damaged physical,social and economic infrastructure will be a long process.EconomyThe recent peace and stability enjoyed by Cambodia havehad a positive affect on the struggling Cambodianeconomy, 3 following falls in growth in 1997 and 1998 (theperiod of the coup and the regional financial crisis and nationalelections). The years 1999 and 2000 saw growth ofbetween 4 and 4.5 per cent, according to the IMF. Duringthis period the currency remained stable at 3850 riels tothe US dollar, and the government increased its revenue to11 per cent of the GDP. The GDP in 1999 was US$3.1 billionand the GDP US$300 per capita, according to AsianDevelopment Bank (ADB) estimates.Cambodia’s economy historically has been dominated bythe agricultural sector. The largest sub-sector is rice, andother significant sub-sectors include fisheries, livestock,timber and rubber. Agriculture, forestry and fisheries accountfor 48 per cent of the GDP and approximately 80–85 per cent of employment.There has been significant growth in the industrial and servicesectors in recent years. The service sector represents40 per cent of the GDP, which has until recently mostlyconsisted of trade, transport and real estate, but of whichtourism represents a rapidly growing sub-sector. The garmentindustry, food and wood processing and shoe manufacturingare the major contributors to industrial output,with the garment industry representing 90 per cent ofCambodia’s manufacturing exports and 38.8 per cent of allexports. The export garment and tourism industries aregrowing rapidly and are increasingly important sources ofrevenue for Cambodia. The value of these industries combinedincreased from US$64 million in 1998 to US$90 millionin 1999.Whilst significant gains have been made in improving ruralinfrastructure in some areas, limited government spendingin rural areas, particularly in irrigation systems, hinders thedevelopment of the agricultural economy. Whilst privateforeign investment is increasing, lack of adequate infrastructure,official corruption, poor application of fiscal policy andlack of a skilled labour force will hinder further developmentof the industrial sector.Cambodia will remain dependent on foreign aid for itsshort- and medium-term economic growth, as aid contributesmore than 40 per cent to government revenue. However,to achieve long-term economic growth the governmentmust face the challenge of laying the foundations forsound industrial and broad-based economy by increasingtaxation revenue; implementing widespread public-sectorreform, including trimming the size of civil services; andrestoring the human capital of the country.MethodThe study used focus groups when working with childrento gain their collective view on questions, which cover issuesof gender, participation, abuse and access. In three differentlocations 30 boys and 30 girls, aged 12 to 16, wereselected from two villages (180 children in total). The childrenwere surveyed in groups of 10 in each location. Somefocus groups were all male, some all female, and there wasone mixed group of five boys and five girls in each location.The study used semi-structured interviews for householdsurveys with 20 parents from two villages in each of thethree locations (60 parents in total). Interviews were alsoconducted with members of up to five government facilitiesin each location. Within each government facility interviewswere to be conducted not only with the head of theThe Girl-Child and Government Service Provision 11