Wildlife group busts illegal loggers in Cambodia
May 24th, 2013, Australia Network News, Environment & Natural Resources, Forests, International Relations, Land Tenure, Protected Areas, Timber/Wood
An illegal logger in Cambodia has dropped an address book during a bust, leaving behind details of corrupt government officials and spying rangers.
The man fled after being intercepted by police over an illegal haul of rare rosewood in Koh Kong province earlier this month. ….
“We were able to confiscate the wood, and we stumbled upon this treasure trove of names and pay off amounts of all the people he had been dealing with, including some government officials,” she said. ….
Several rangers working with Wildlife Alliance have been identified as spies for the loggers and are currently under 24-hour surveillance after being questioned.
Australia Network News
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-05-23/an-wildlife-group-busts-illegal-loggers-in-cambodia/4709882
NGOs Assessing Development Goals for Coming Years
May 24th, 2013, VOA Khmer, Agriculture & Agri-business, Business & Commercial Development, Environment & Natural Resources, Extractive Industries, Farming, Industry, International Relations, Social Concerns
As Cambodia assesses its development goals, a study has found that many Cambodians want to see an improved judicial system, better education, improved agriculture and more human rights.
A broad consortium of local and international development agencies spent the early part of the year conducting conferences in the provinces of Battambang and Kampong Cham and surveys in 11 provinces, aimed at better understanding what the public wants as the country assesses its goals for the period from 2015 to 2018. …
The NGOs settled on eight recommendations: an unbiased judicial system, improved education, better transparency and benefits from natural resource extraction, improved farming skills, better agricultural markets and improved human rights.
Along with those recommendations come principles of social inclusion, government accountability, green economic growth and the sustainable management of resources, participants said. …
Suy Heimkhemra
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/ngo-assessing-development-goals-for-coming-years/1667239.html
Rice Boss in Pre-trial Detention ‘13 Months’
May 24th, 2013, The Phnom Penh Post, Disputed Land, Land Tenure, News Source
The general director of a local rice wholesaler accused of defrauding business associates in a deal has lashed out at the judiciary – claiming delays in legal processing have left him imprisoned for 13 months without trial. …
Sovann Veasna is accused of cheating three businessmen – Keo Remy, who is also vice-chairman of the government’s Press and Quick Reaction Unit; Chhim Narith, Remy’s brother-in-law; and Un Somalea – in three Siem Reap land deals amounting to $150,000 in 2009.
The trio say they handed over the money only to find the land was already occupied and they had signed bogus documents. …
Buth Reaskmey Kongkea
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013052465829/National/rice-boss-in-pre-trial-detention-13-months.html
Regional pharma producers eye Kingdom
May 24th, 2013, The Phnom Penh Post, Business & Commercial Development, Foreign Investment, Imports, Industry, News Source, pharmaceuticals, Trade
International pharmaceutical companies are increasingly looking to sell their products to Cambodia, although the market is full of obstacles, according to experts.
After several big international players announced sales expansion plans, two companies from Indonesia, a major manufacturing hub in Southeast Asia, are planning to follow.
Kalbe Farma, Indonesia’s largest listed pharmaceutical company, told the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday that it plans to add non-prescription cough and cold medicines to its product range in Cambodia this year. The company is seeking to double its export contribution to 8 per cent of total revenue within six years, Kalbe’s Finance Director Vidjongtius told the newspaper. …
Cambodia’s pharmaceutical market was worth $170 million in 2012, according to the second quarter 2013 pharmaceuticals and healthcare report from Business Monitor International.
However, the lack of official data and the absence of a clear distinction between prescription and non-prescription medicine make market segmentation calculations all but impossible, the report added. …
Sarah Thust
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013052465819/Business/regional-pharma-producers-eye-kingdom.html
Family Accepts $9000 over Collapse Death
May 24th, 2013, The Cambodia Daily, Business & Commercial Development, Construction, Disasters & Disaster Management, Garment Industry, Industry, Infrastructure, International Relations, Labor, Social Concerns
The family of a worker who was killed when a ceiling collapsed at Kompong Spue province footwear factory lasts week has accepted 9,000 in compensation, and in return has agreed not file a complaint against the company, the deceased’s wife said yesterday. …
Rim Sarouen, 22, was one of two workers who were crushed to death in the ceiling collapse at the Taiwanese-owned Wing Star Shoes Co Ltd., on May 16. Authorities said the collapse was due to construction work that had been illegally contracted. …
Korn Vet, the father of the second victim, Sim Srey Touch, 22, said …“We would demand more than $20,000. If they pay us, we won’t file a complaint against them. …
Dave Welsh, country head of the Solidarity Center, a U.S.-based organisation advocating for worker rights, said a proper of compensation should be based on the workers’ salary, years of service lost and damages-which would bring it to 97,000. …
“Paying off a poor grief-stricken family with $9,000 sets a terrible precedent, not just in the garment industry, but for any worker in the industry,” he [Dave Welsh] said.
Mr. Wesh said the government should prosecute Wing Star.
Chhorn Chansey, P.19
www.cambodiadaily.com
Subedi Protest Linked to CPP-Aligned Youth Group
May 24th, 2013, The Cambodia Daily, International Relations, Social Concerns
Despite the apparent spontaneity of a protest against U.N. human rights envoy Surya Subedi at a university in Phnom Penh on Tuesday night, it emerged Wednesday that one of the apparent leaders of the demonstration is associated with a youth organization aligned with the ruling CPP.
After Mr. Subedi ended his lecture on international investment law to hundreds of students at the Cambodia Mekong University (CMU) on Tuesday night, a question and answer session was hijacked by students wanting to vent their anger about the special rapporteur and his reports on human rights in Cambodia.
The first student to take the microphone was 23-year-old Chea Chheng, a student of public administration at the Royal University of Law and Economics (RULE), who said he rejected the reports released by Mr. Subedi and stated firmly that “Cambodia has no human rights problems.” …
Mr. Chheng’s Facebook page shows a picture of him dressed in a military uniform issued to student volunteers as he receives a gift from Prime Minister Hun Sen at an event to promote the prime minister’s nationwide land-titling program. Other photos show Mr. Chheng posing on three different occasions alongside Mr. Many, including at events involving the Red Cross and the UYFC.
Kuch Naren and Simon Lewis
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/subedi-protest-linked-to-cpp-aligned-youth-group-26156/
Electricity co-operation crucial
May 24th, 2013, The Phnom Penh Post, Business & Commercial Development, Construction, Economics, Electricity, Energy, Infrastructure, International Relations, News Source
Co-operation on the exchange of electricity will be very important in making the 10-country ASEAN bloc move forward to a single market by 2015, experts said, but a shortage of power supply in each country remains a challenge.
Speaking to reporters yesterday after the opening of the 29th meeting of the Heads of ASEAN Power Utilities and Authorities Council, Keo Rottanak, director general of Electricity of Cambodia (EDC), said the population and economic growth rates are rising in ASEAN, which is why more energy supply is needed. …
According to a report in 2011 conducted by the ASEAN Center for Energy, Cambodia’s electricity tariff is one of the most expensive in the Southeast Asian region. Tariff rates range from 9 cents to 25 cents per kilowatt hour for the EDC grid, and 40 cents to 80 cents per kilowatt hour for rural areas.
The report revealed that on average electricity prices for industrial consumers range from 11.71 cents to 14.63 cents, which is the highest among ASEAN economies. …
Hor Kimsay
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013052465820/Business/electricity-co-operation-crucial.html
Families Say Land Was Taken
May 24th, 2013, The Phnom Penh Post, Disputed Land, Land Tenure, News Source, Social Land Concessions
Nearly 90 representatives of 137 families in Battambang province, some of whom include former Khmer Rouge cadres, protested for a second day in Phnom Penh yesterday, claiming authorities had seized land they had held since the late 1990s.
Ul Yan who was among protesters at Butom Vatey pagoda, near Prime Minister Hun Sen’s house, said district and commune authorities colluded to grab 527 hectares of land in two communes in Bavel district and another in Phnom Proek district. …
Phak Seangly
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013052465825/National/families-say-land-was-taken.html
Subedi Urges Passage of Laws on Judiciary
May 24th, 2013, The Cambodia Daily, International Relations, Social Concerns
U.N. human rights envoy Surya Subedi met with a senior official at the Ministry of Justice on Wednesday and reiterated a call for new legislation to be passed on governing Cambodia’s judiciary.
“He did not ask us much on anything new, but he did ask for an update on the work to the Law on the Organisation and Functioning of the Courts and the Law on the Status of Judges and Prosecutors,” [Ministry of Justice Secretary of State] Mr. [Prom] Sidhra said. …
The laws have been a long time coming. Their very existence is enshrined in the country’s 1993 constitution, both are still in the draft sage and have bounced back and forth between the Ministry of Justice and the Council of Ministers. …
Phorn Bopa and Lauren Crothers
www.cambodiadaily.com
Judge Denies Coercion Claim in Land Dispute Assault Case
May 24th, 2013, The Cambodia Daily, Disputed Land, Land Tenure, Social Concerns
A father whose three children were badly beaten by employees of a rubber plantation has accused a Ratanakkiri Provincial Court judge of threatening to send two sons, aged 14 and 21, to jail unless they accept $1,000 in compensation and drop the assault complaint.
Ry Saron is attempting to sue the plantation owner DM Group, for $40,000 for the May 5 beating that company employees inflicted with wood and metal poles on his three children and a neighbor.
The four were attempting to stop rubber plantation workers from clearing the land claimed by their families when they were beaten. …
Mr. Saron also alleged that Judge [Eng] Champnap threatened to charge his sons and his neighbor’s son with attacking the plantation workers, thus turning them into the perpetrators and not the victims of the assault. …
Under duress, Mr Saron said he agreed to thumbprint a statement, two lines of which he kept blank at the bottom, which Judge Champnap subsequently filled in himself stating that Mr. Saron had agreed to accept the $1,000.
“The judge said, “your sons will not be charged and the four workers will be also released,” he said. …
DM Group has been locked in land disputes for years.
Last year, Royal Cambodian Armed Forces Second Lieutenant Sin Vanny, 50, was arrested for shooting and injuring a 20-year old villager who was riding a motor cycle across land at the center of a separate long running land dispute between ethnic minority villagers and the rubber plantation. Lt. Vanny was moonlighting at the time as a security guard for DM Group in Lumphat district. …
Aun Pheap,
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/judge-denies-coercion-claim-in-assault-case-26546/
5,000 Protest for Benefits in Kompong Speu
May 24th, 2013, The Cambodia Daily, Business & Commercial Development, Garment Industry, Industry, International Relations, Labor, Social Concerns
About 5,000 garment workers from a factory in Kompong Speu province, which manufactures clothing for U.S sports giant Nike, yesterday blocked National Road 4 demanding additional allowances, such as transport and maternity bonuses, a union representative said.
The protest at Sabrina (Cambodia) Garment MFG Corp., in Samroing Tong district, has been going since Tuesday, said Sun Vanny, a Free Trade Union representative at the factory. …
Sabrina has previously come under media scrutiny for repeated incidents of mass fainting. In 2012, the Free Trade Union recorded that Sabrina had four separate incidents of faintings, affecting 340 workers. …
Saing Soethrith, P.21
www.cambodiadaily.com
Massive Power Outage Triggered by Falling Tree
May 24th, 2013, The Cambodia Daily, Business & Commercial Development, Economics, Electricity, Energy, Industry, Infrastructure, International Relations, Social Concerns, Tourism, Trade, Water
A massive power outage that left large areas of Phnom Penh without electricity and water and plunged southern Vietnam into darkness on Wednesday was caused by a crane operator knocking a tree onto a high voltage power line, Vietnam’s state-owned energy provider said yesterday. …
“A crane with the registration number 61P-3745 broke safety regulations, which led to widespread outages in the Southern region of Vietnam,” the Southern Power Corporation, which is owned by Vietnam Electricity Group, said in a statement. …
The state-owned newspaper, Than Nien, reported that the incident had cost the Southern Power Corporation and estimated $7000, 000 in lost revenue. …
An official at Cambodia’s state-owned energy provider Eletricite du Cambodge…said that no one yet had estimated how much the incident had cost the firm. …
However he did say the outage had meant Cambodia’s national grid had lost 40 percent of its capacity during the hours without electricity. …
The blackout hit the tourist thronged river front area and left scores of hotels restaurants and offices throughout the city in darkness. …
Simon Henderson and Kaing Menghun
www.cambodiadaily.com
ASEAN power chiefs to follow up power grid plan
May 23rd, 2013, China Daily, Business & Commercial Development, Electricity, Energy, Environment & Natural Resources, Industry, Infrastructure, International Relations
Leaders of ASEAN power utilities and authorities gathered on Thursday to follow up the progress of the ambitious ASEAN power grid action plan, which was set to inter-connect power lines in the 10 ASEAN member states by 2020.
Speaking to reporters after the opening of the 29th meeting of the Heads of ASEAN Power Utilities and Authorities Council, Keo Rottanak, director general of the Electricity of Cambodia, said the meeting enabled the bloc’s member states to be informed of the latest development and development objectives of the energy sector in each ASEAN country. …
Meanwhile, Rottanak said that by 2020, about 80 percent of the Cambodian population would be able to access to electricity.
Ith Praing, secretary of state at Cambodian Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy, said that the regional power grid inter-connection would be the main driver for green energy and reduced damages to the environment. …
China Daily Staff
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2013-05/23/content_16525904.htm
ILO to name unsafe Cambodia garment factories
May 23rd, 2013, Radio Free Asia, Business & Commercial Development, Construction, Disasters & Disaster Management, Garment Industry, Industry, Infrastructure, International Relations, Labor, Social Concerns
The ILO is preparing to name Cambodian garment factories failing to comply with local safety requirements. …
The International Labour Organisation says Cambodian garment factories refusing to comply with safety requirements have one last chance before they are named and shamed.
Jill Tucker, chief technical advisor for the ILO’s Better Factories Cambodia program, has told Radio Australia’s Asia Pacific some factories in the country have made no effort to comply with local labour laws. …
She says the ILO is urging the Cambodian government to engage in more enforcement activities with factories refusing to comply with labour laws.
“In terms of building safety, we’re strongly recommending that all factories undertake an independent assessment,” she said. …
Ms Tucker says there are other health and safety concerns for Cambodia’s garment industry, including the inability of factories to keep up with the rapid growth of the sector.
“It’s becoming too expensive to produce garments in China,” Ms Tucker said.
“I would say that the majority of the growth in Cambodia is due to the haemorrhaging of orders outside of China.”
Radio Free Asia Staff
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2013-05-23/ilo-to-name-unsafe-cambodia-garment-factories/1134850
ACLEDA capitalises for growth
May 23rd, 2013, The Phnom Penh Post, Banking & Finance, Business & Commercial Development, Domestic Investment, Financial Services, News Source
ACLEDA Bank, the largest locally owned commercial bank in Cambodia, said it has raised its current registered capital by $72.5 million, to $185.6 million, for business expansion domestically and internationally. It is the tenth time the bank has done so. …
May Kunmakara
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013052365788/Business/acleda-capitalises-for-growth.html
Eviction Protestors Block Phnom Penh International Airport
May 23rd, 2013, The Cambodia Daily, Business & Commercial Development, Construction, Disputed Land, Industry, Infrastructure, International Relations, Land Tenure, Social Concerns, Tourism
About 20 people protesting their pending eviction from their homes near Phnom Penh International Airport blocked people from leaving or entering the airport for about half an hour yesterday, before a large force of police broke up their protest. …
In July, authorities told 182 families that their homes were in the way of a security “buffer zone” around the airport, and that they needed to clear out ahead of the arrival of the world leaders for two summits late last year. …
The residents insist they own their land legally, as local government officials had recognized their property transactions and house constructions over many years. But the municipal government has rejected those claims, saying they built their homes illegally regardless of what commune and district officials acknowledged in terms of their land purchase and construction. …
If the houses are not removed, the International Civil Aviation Organisation could blacklist Phnom Penh International Airport, he [Civil Aviation State Secretariat Say Sokhan] claimed.
Aun Pheap
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/eviction-protesters-block-phnom-penh-international-airport-26147/
Hun Sen Tells Landowners in Kep to Obey Tax Law
May 23rd, 2013, The Cambodia Daily, Business & Commercial Development, Economics, Industry, International Relations, Land Tenure
Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday told landowners in the coastal province of Kep to pay their taxes on unused land and increase the amount of investment in the area to attract more visitors.
According to the law, unused land is subject to a 2 percent tax that must be paid by the registered owner before September 30 of the relevant year. …
Mr. Hun sen also called on investors to boost the number of tourism projects in the small coastal province. …
Neou Vannarin
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/business/hun-sen-tells-landowners-in-kep-to-obey-tax-law-26172/
Rain Provides Small Respite for Families in Koh Kong Drought
May 23rd, 2013, The Cambodia Daily, Business & Commercial Development, Climate Change, Construction, Environment & Natural Resources, Industry, Infrastructure, Lakes/Rivers, Social Concerns, Water
Several days of rain have finally brought relief to hundreds of families in Koh Kong province’s Khemara Phoumint City who had been without water for two weeks because the reservoir that provides their supply dried up during hot season. …
LYP Group, a company owned by Ly Yong Yong Phat, channels water to 4,000 families in Khemara Phoumint City from the Cham Yeam reservoir in Mondol Seima district and [provincial director of the Department of Industry Mines and Energy] Mr. [Pitch] Si Yun said that about 20 percent of those families had been affected since early May by water shortages.
Mr. Si Yun said that both his department and LYP group had studied ways to solve the area’s water-shortage problem and had already identified a new reservoir site at Ta Phorn waterfall located nearby that could store between 5,000 and 7,000 cubic meters of water. …
Mr. Si Yun said construction was scheduled to begin later this year and would take around two years to complete. …
Chhorn Chansy, P.17
www.cambodiadaily.com
AEON widens HP to farmers
May 23rd, 2013, The Phnom Penh Post, Agriculture & Agri-business, Banking & Finance, Borrowing, Business & Commercial Development, Farming, Financial Services, Foreign Investment, News Source
AEON Microfinance (Cambodia) Co Ltd says it has expanded its installment payment services into the agricultural sector, a new business type industry insiders say could be successful, but will still not be enough to strengthen one of Cambodia’s most crucial economic sectors.
“We will co-operate with agricultural equipment shops and provide the instalment [sic] for appliances such as cultivators, which cost about $2,000. We pay to the shop, and the customer pays to us monthly,” managing director Daisuke Maeda told the Post. …
Part of Japan’s AEON Group, the microfinance institution (MFI) started offering an instalment service, or hire purchase (HP), in December 2011 for electrical appliances and motorbikes, which is different from loans directly given in cash to the customer.
Compared to other players in Cambodia’s crowded MFI market, AEON will charge a relatively high interest rate of about 3.3 per cent per month but does not take any collateral. …
Anne Renzenbrink
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/2013052365789/Business/aeon-widens-hp-to-farmers.html
Vietnam Power Failure Hits Phnom Penh
May 23rd, 2013, The Cambodia Daily, Business & Commercial Development, Electricity, Energy, Imports, Industry, Infrastructure, International Relations, Social Concerns, Tourism, Water
A massive power outage Wednesday in Southern Vietnam brought rolling blackouts that lasted for hours to Ho Chi Minh City, the entire southeastern region of Vietnam and large sections of Phnom Penh.
Vietnam’s state-owned Southern Power Corporation said Wednesday that the problem occurred around 2 p.m. following the breakdown of a 500-kilovolt transmission line that also supplies Cambodia with much-needed electricity. …
“We have only about 30 percent of our normal supply of electricity to distribute to important areas of the city, but we are trying to fix the problem,” the [Eletricite du Cambodge] official said yesterday afternoon, adding that Vietnam provides Cambodia with about 40 percent of its national electricity supply.
Keo Sovannarith, deputy director of the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority, confirmed the city’s water supply had been hit by the outage.
“When the water supply factory looses electricity from the EdC, the machine-which uses electricity to work-can’t pump water to the pipes,” he said. …
Chin Chan and Simon Henderson
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/vietnam-power-failure-hits-phnom-penh-26121/